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What motivates you?

My intention for this post was to wax rhapsodic about the motivational powers of music.  I would then elaborate on this theory by talking about the scientific evidence that our brains tell our hearts to beat at the same tempo as the music we’re listening to.  So for a really effective workout, we should listen to upbeat (120-130 bpm) music, whereas for concentration, we should listen to music that calms and focuses (about 60 bpm).  At this point I would segue brilliantly into the superior quality of Plantronics headsets that maximize the delivery of the right music for the occasion.  Finally, I would effectively come full circle and encourage you to turn up the music and get to work.

I got distracted, though.  I polled co-workers, friends and family to see if I could find a common thread for motivation.  The answers ranged from the obvious (cash, survival), to the inspirational (excellence, curiosity), to the amusing (looking for lost keys, pickled beets).  And I thought long and hard about what motivates me.  After serious reflection, I came to understand my own most driving motivation is the desire to be proud of myself.  This conclusion is admittedly less muddy if I stop trying to figure out why I ate all that raw cookie dough.

I lost sight of the power of music, and got caught up in the variety of responses, and the limitless potential of intrinsic motivation.  I’ve decided that the act of simply questioning your motivation can actually help you better understand your goals.  It isn’t necessary to find a blanket motivation for every action.  Be aware that it’s the desired end result that inspires you, and that motivation is both personal and situational.   Even if your motivation is negative (i.e. avoiding punishment), then you’ve learned from past mistakes, which makes failure your ally, not your adversary.


By all means, put on your Plantronics headset and pump up your favorite playlist – my own involves a lot of 80s pop from the early days of MTV (seriously, the Go-Go’s could rock).  For focus and concentration I highly recommend the alpha wave playlists available on YouTube.  Because there is nothing wrong with external motivation.  It just took writing this post for me to understand how much more there is to consider.

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