What’s My Motivation

What’s My Motivation?

Just about any movie or TV script that makes a little fun of actors will eventually find one such actor saying, “But, what’s my motivation?”  I think that’s a question that all actors are taught to ask — of a director, or themselves – when they take on a role.

As Shakespeare said, though, we’re all playing roles on this worldly stage.  So, what’s our motivation?

A lot of what we do is motivated by the desire to stay alive.  Early humans, and people in unsafe environments even today, have to spend a lot of time and energy scrambling for food and avoiding predators – animal or human.

Most of us have things a bit easier than that.  Our motivations lean more towards being liked (or at least noticed), enjoying life, and passing along wisdom and an inheritance along to our children.

We also help people in need, when we can.  Some people say that these gifts don’t count if our motivation comes from wanting to be noticed or trying to make up for things we feel bad about. 

Personally, I think what we do is more important than why we do it.  Altruism – doing something for no personal benefit – is pretty rare.  After all, doing something nice for someone else makes a person feel good, right?  Well, that’s a personal benefit.

Some artists question their motivation for creating.  Is it ego?  Maybe.  And why not?  Everybody likes to have their work acknowledged. 

Some motivations warrant scrutiny.  Gossiping about neighbors or workmates is motivated by the desire to be liked, I think.  Being a super-fan is probably motivated by the desire to belong.  The pursuit of science and religion might both be motivated by the desire to understand.

Psychologists spend countless hours helping people understand why they do what they do.  Other people could probably benefit from such insights.  Why do some people knock themselves out trying to please others who aren’t even nice to them?  It seems their motivation that isn’t very healthy.

What motivates people to run for office?  A desire to serve, or a desire for recognition?  Or, maybe a bit of both.

If you think about it, everyone does everything for one reason or another.  You don’t have to be an actor to ask “What’s my motivation?”  Mostly, though, why we do things is less important than the good or bad consequences of the things we do.