mo.ti.va.tion

What is motivation? Where do we look for it? Is it the love for something? Is it the passion that drives you? Is it something that is meant to happen naturally? Or do we go in search of motivation? Okay, back to what is motivation? This is what Meriamm-Webster Dictionary had to say.

                                        

There are three considerably different definitions that we get as results. This makes it clear that the word “motivation” cannot be taken for granted like it most often is. Most of us come across the word repeatedly, but from my observation, very few of us actually come across motivation itself. While the word ‘motivation’ makes me tear my hair out, I recall my math teacher at IIT class who spoke about “sustained motivation”. I barely found motivation in his math and he was talking about sustaining it! How could have I?

My Physics teacher at the same coaching centre was very particular about defining terms before using them. He wouldn’t use a word as ‘simple’ as gravity (it isn’t as simple as we think it is, he stressed) without explaining what it meant, using the words he had defined previously. Obviously, he assumed we knew Basic English to define the very first term (displacement origin, I think) and reasonably so. As a result, I enjoyed attending his classes more and I like to think that I loved the subject.

The ideas that my Physics teacher gave me are so strong in my mind that it disturbs me when people describe something that is supposed to make an impact with terms that are taken for granted and commonly misunderstood – motivation being one among the first few. Each time anyone blames me for lack of motivation, I start contemplating on what I’m missing out and assume to have drawn conclusions based on the thoughts, though, in reality, I’m lost and end up with someone making me “feel better”.

However, I will consider that I have made a few reasonable conclusions based on those thoughts. Though one may question the use of the word ‘conclusion’, I have realized that it is hard to provide proof to justify statements triggered by experience. Okay, you may question the next statement which is another conclusion too. The conclusion being – confusion arises out of poor understanding or in other words ‘lack of a clear definition’.

Many of us find it hard to stay motivated through our journey of achieving a specific task or in particular, long time goals. Many of us find ourselves stranded mid-way missing the passion (Merriam-Webster: a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something) that got us to take it up (or did it?) in the first place. If it was real motivation that we began with, why did we lose it mid-way? Have we got it all wrong? Motivation is a very personal thing. It isn’t induced as easily as claimed. Motivational talks keep our spirits high for a few days or say, weeks. Real motivation only comes from within. I always think most achievers have felt motivation from within, however, they talk about it like it needs to be addressed externally in their talks.

The real fuss about motivation for an engineering student comes when she/he to choose her/his field of interest for pursuit. ‘How do we find the area of interest?’ is one of the most common questions one would come across among sophomores pursuing engineering. I think there is a reason behind why we, Indian students find it hard to make such decisions with firmness. The reason to me, has to do with the students’ schooling days which are when she/he builds her/his character. The ability to think and make firm decisions must be nurtured from childhood. Remember those questions you had in math class that you ignored because you knew how to write the solution on paper? Remember you hardly questioned what the science teacher taught you and accepted them as facts? Remember you chose the science stream in 11^th grade because you didn't have much else to choose from, neither did you know what really interested you or what you were good at? Remember you chose to study engineering for similar reasons?

What needs to be ‘defined’ or taught is how to think and decide (for ourselves) and not what lies ahead itself. That way, we would have better thinkers and innovators rather than human machines carrying out tasks in mechanical routine. We wouldn't require anyone to show us the safest route to settlement our lives. We would tread it by ourselves as we follow what we love from the beginning. What would have motivation meant then? We wouldn't have needed a definition; we would have just had it intrinsically.