Misguided Motivation

Found this from somebody's post on Twitter... at times this article sounds like a cheesy self-help book (like "The Secret", which a lot of people just love), but it's true, and perhaps one of the differences between Peter Keating and Howard Roark... sort of, kind of... maybe.

Whenever you have a goal, ask yourself what your motivation to achieve that goal is based on. Are you motivated by some reward? Does your motivation rely on someone else? Are you motivated by anything other than a desire for self-improvement or to help others? That’s the million dollar question.

The only real motivation in life comes from the desire we just discussed. All other motivation is simply an illusion, and a dangerous illusion at that.

Let’s think for a minute about self-based motivation vs. object-based motivation. If you are motivated by a desire to improve yourself, you will always be accomplishing—it will be an ongoing process. On the other hand, if you are motivated by a single reward, thing, idea, etc. you may achieve that thing, but unknowingly forsake all others in the process, including yourself. We see this in people who do the minimum required to be rewarded.

Think about all those people who come out crying from American Idol auditions... tsk tsk! Misguided motivation!