Oct
Motivators
People are motivated by various things. The most common motivators are money, sex, power and ego. These are things that can get a person to stop what he is doing. Some will even go way off course for one of them. Is it any wonder that these things are common ploys used by spies to compromise a target? Of course, most people seeking these goals are not so extreme as to be foolish.
There are other motivators that are less visible. They also have no mitigating qualities. Guilt is the most insidious of them. People have been known to do extreme and bizarre things when driven by guilt. A feeling of unworthiness is enough to make an otherwise decent person miserable. He will refuse the good things of life in a convoluted belief that he is unworthy of them. Guilt keeps him down.
Fear is a motivator of another sort. Fear keeps many from enjoying life. For instance, in the old days a colloquial phrase for dying was “getting yours.” There are people so afraid of “getting theirs” that they rarely venture outside their apartments. Fear hobbles people as surely as any physical or mental disability.
There are people who will sell out their integrity just to “look good” in front of others. They lead a dual life. There is the secret life at home, and the “showing off” public life. This type of person will sell out friends, relatives and even their own children just so they look good. It is an ongoing series of betrayals and performances that takes pretentiousness to extremes.
Motivation is a good thing, in normal circumstances. It is perfectly normal to want more of good in your life. Money, sex, power and a little ego fulfillment have their merits. It is only when they are taken to an extreme that they cause problems. Fear, guilt and the false image are without merit. They are sicknesses which cripple otherwise healthy people. If guilt, fear and image-consciousness are keeping you from living successfully, then it is time to work at eliminating them. You can minimize these faults. The first and most important step is recognizing them and making the decision to be free of them.
