Motivation ki kahani, Engineering student ki zubaani

In this world there are two types of people; one who don’t know what they have to do and others who are aware of their goals but lack in implementation. The basic problem with both the groups is lack of motivation.

One can define motivation as a successful tool to turn your thoughts into actions. When people ask us “What are your future plans?” we either say we haven’t planned it or we narrate our goals which may range from getting selected in some company to going for post-graduation to opening a company ourselves. These answers come from motivation; motivation from what the goal provides to motivation from the people who are successful in their respective fields. But are we really motivated enough that we only think we will do it and in the process forget what steps are actually to be taken to achieve our goals.

Every college has its Campus Recruitment. Big Multi-National Companies come and recruit young brains of today. It is only then, when a company comes, we realize that either we are not eligible or we haven’t cleared the aptitude test or we cannot face the personal interview. The problem is we know that we want placements in the Company but we don’t realize our strengths and weaknesses neither we devise a plan of how should we approach our target. The reason for failure is simply lack of motivation. We have the thought already in our minds but don’t have motivation to implement it.

Now, the apparent question is how to get motivated. There is no specific answer. Different people may derive motivation from different sources. Moreover it depends on the person how he looks at various happenings around himself. I read a story which goes as:

There were two brothers. One a drug addict, a drunkard who used to beat his family. The other was a successful business man having a wonderful family and living peacefully and respectfully in the society. Some people were anxious to find how children from the same parents were so different despite being brought up in the same environment.

The first one was asked,”What motivates you to be what you are?”. He said, ”My father”. They asked “How about your father?”. He said, ”My father was a drug addict, a drunk and always used to beat up our family. So what do you expect me to be?”

The second one was asked, “How come you are so successful in life? What motivates you to achieve such heights?” He replied, “My Father, “. Everyone was shocked. He continued, ”When I was a boy, I saw my father coming home drunk and beating our family. That time I made my mind that whatever I be tomorrow I would certainly not follow my father’s footsteps.”

The above story shows that motivation can be positive or negative. Both the men derived their motivation from the same source but it depended on them how they use it – positively or negatively.

Another common story is that the motivation behind attending lectures is five marks in Internals. If we wouldn’t have any marks for attendance would we have attended each and every lecture. We write assignments and journals only because we are motivated as we would get more Internals if we complete and submit them without caring what are we writing, how are we writing and most important from where are we writing. These examples are of External Motivation.

External Motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval, fame or fear. Some of us get motivated to perform in the semesters so that we don’t get spanked by our parents. An employee works harder so that he may not be fired at work. Some of us are motivated to perform well in the coming semester because we just passed the last. Some are motivated to study when they realize that tomorrow is an exam. Some join extra courses so that they can write them in their resumes. Some take part in competitions which give them incentives and recognition. These are all types of External Motivation.

The best way of getting motivated is through Internal Motivation. Internal Motivation comes from within, such as pride, a sense of achievement, responsibility and belief. There is another story which goes as: There was a boy who used to come regularly for football practices but couldn’t make it to the final eleven. While he was practicing, his father used to sit at the far end, waiting for him. The tournament started and for four days the boy didn’t show up neither for the practice nor for the quarterfinals or semifinals. All of a sudden he appeared for the finals, went to the Coach and said, ”Coach, You have always kept me in reserves and never let me play in the final eleven, but today let me play.” The Coach said, “Sorry Son, I can’t let you. There are better players than you and moreover the school reputation is at stake and I can’t take a chance.” The boy pleaded, “Coach, I promise I wont let you down. Please let me play.” The Coach had never seen the boy plead like that before. He said, ”Ok son, go play but remember the school reputation is at stake.”

The game started and the boy played like a house on fire. Every time the ball came to him, he shot a goal. He was the best player and the star of the game. His team had a spectacular win.

When the game finished, the Coach went up to the boy and said, “Son, how could I be so wrong in my life. I had never seen you play like this before. What happened? How did you play so well?” The boy replied, “Coach, my father is watching me today.” The Coach turned around and looked at the place where the boy’s father used to sit but was amazed to see that there was no one. He said, “Son, your father used to sit there when you practiced but I don’t see anyone there today.” The boy said, ”Coach, there is one thing I never told you. My father was blind. Just four days ago he died. Today is the first day he is watching me from above.”

What motivated the boy to be the star of the game? Obviously it was the inner motivation which arose as he wanted to show his father what a great player he was.

Inner motivation comes from within, when we are happy from heart. A simple exercise to be motivated is to appreciate your work and appreciate others also. When you appreciate people you are filled with joy and want to achieve more heights than what you have achieved. This feeling of happiness is the result of self-motivation. If we can achieve a seventy plus in a particular semester, we have the potential to achieve it in any other semester. For this we have to keep ourselves motivated which can be sparked by positive thinking.

Motivation can also be through being responsible. Motivation needs to be identified and constantly strengthened to succeed. Keep your goals in front of you and read them morning and evening. When people accept responsibilities for their behavior and actions, their attitude towards life becomes positive. They become more productive, personally and professionally. Their relationships improve both at home and at work. Life becomes more meaningful and fulfilled.