I think I can, I know I can: Motivation

Motivation is energy. It can come from within, or can be from the inspiration of others.

It comes in different forms and can be positive or negative. When a person commits a crime, one might ask him/her,"What motivated you to do that?” When a football team wins a game you might hear, "They were motivated to make the finals."

Self motivation is the best form of motivation. It is passionate, real, satisfying and gets the best results. It has the highest energy. It is an energy you 'own'.

Motivating others is difficult. I have observed different coaches over the years, through sports my brothers and son have played. Some choose to 'fire up' players/athletes by being very critical and almost abusive, while others give more positive structure and reassurance. I believe both of these can work, depending on the individual and the way they respond.

I couldn't help but wonder what Mark Harvey would have said to the Dockers at half time yesterday. They were losing to the Eagles and it wasn't looking good. I was slightly confident they would make a comeback, but there was a lot of work to do.

He may have told them they were doing ok but needed to stick on their players, get the hard ball, kick more direct, run hard etc

OR

He might have taken a different approach. He may have told them they were playing poorly, would be humiliated if they lost to a team that wasn't doing well, needed to get back their local pride and wouldn't look like a credible finals side if they were to lose.

Whatever Mark Harvey told them it worked. The team did come out after half time and put more points on the board. Not only did they kick enough goals to hit the lead, they were able to prevent the Eagles from scoring. Confidence kicked in, and the Dockers won by a substantial margin.

The Dockers are doing well this year because they have a new belief in themselves. With this comes pride, determination and passion. I really believe there is a combination of self motivation and the support of their coach's motivation that has seen a fairytale start to the season for them.

A lecturer is in much the same position as a coach. He/she can only enhance motivation that is within his/her students. They can't produce the work for the student, and their techniques are useless if the individual is not prepared to cooperate.

Personally, a positive style of motivation works best with me. If I can see the light at the end of a tunnel, then I have more determination to get there. If I see consequence and misery, then I feel less energetic.

Assignments and work are like an over filled dinner plate put in front of a child. You don't know where to start and you feel overwhelmed with expectation. Energy levels are low; motivation is low, and giving in before you even begin becomes an attractive option.

Sometimes we want choice taken away from us and for others to help us to decide. We may already have the confidence or ability, but have put up walls that don’t allow us to move forward. A coach or lecturer can help us to bring these down. They can help us go from, “I think I can” to, “I know I can”.

There was a book my parents read to me when I was young called The Little Red Engine that Could by Wally Piper. I read this same Little Golden Book to Tom when he was young. This is taken from the book:


A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill "I can't; that is too much a pull for me," said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can," puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could."

The story is famous because it teaches children the value of optimism and hard work.
Sometimes motivation comes from the inspiration of others. We see how they have succeeded through their hard work, and we are inspired to do so ourselves.

One person who inspires me is my son. He was born early and we were told he would be slow to walk; his motor skills would take a long time to catch up to others. His early years did not look bright.

He was born with an amazing determination that he still has to day.

The child that wasn’t supposed to walk until he was 2 ran past us in the living room at 9 months! He went on to excel at everything he did. He has a sense of adventure and is always determined to do his best at whatever he tries. At 18 months he was roller-skating, by 4 he was riding bikes and skateboarding, by 6 he was surfing, by 7 he was a State swimmer with an impressive collection of medals and trophies.

One could argue he is naturally gifted, but ‘naturally gifted’ doesn’t get you out of bed at 4.30am at least 4 times a week. Naturally gifted doesn’t make you choose between missing out on watching tv and playing computer games, or going to training.

The amazing thing is I can’t swim. I can swim enough to save myself, but cannot do a lap of a pool. Tom has been doing 5km+ swims since the age of 7! I can’t criticise his swimming because it is not something I can even imagine doing myself. I am merely the taxi driver.

He is able to create goals and plan how he is going to achieve them. This is something I was never strong at. He is able to rise above disappointment.
You could say he is just responding to the motivation of his coach, but those who know him know his motivation comes from within.

We were once at the State Long Course Championships. Tom had qualified for everything, but his pet event was the 50 metre butterfly. He was 9 years old and he was a medal chance.

When the swimmers lined up for the event, lane 4 was missing. The coach and others looked around confused. There was no Tom! He had gone to the wrong marshalling area and had missed the event.

The coach was greeted by a heart broken swimmer. We all felt his disappointment. He had trained hard all season for this event – it only happened once a year! The coach suggested he go home as there was no way he would be able to function for any other events that day.

What happened next surprised us. Tom went down to the ‘cool off’ pool. We let him go on his own, to ‘get it out of his system’. He was away longer than expected.

The boy’s 9 and Under Backstroke event came up, and there was Tom on the blocks! His coach was amazed. He said it was the last thing he expected.

Tom not only surpassed his personal best time, he blitzed the pool and won the heat, making him rank in the top 5 in the state!

That’s the way he is.

He motivates me by encouraging me and showing interest in what I do. He loves to come in to see where I am with my assignments, critics my presentations, and loves to tell his friends that his mum is at “Uni”. He enjoys being involved and hearing about “what mum did at school today”. I am motivated because I know that giving in, not doing my assignments on time, not doing my best etc are not setting him a good example, and his disappointment in me would also be quite hurtful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Engine_That_Could