What motivates us during life Dif f erent t hings mot ivat e dif f erent people. In t his art icle we will explore what can mot ivat e us as individuals and we will st art by examining t he priorit ies of dif f erent lif e st ages which heavily can inf luence each of us.
Motivation at different life stages Hope Our lif e in t he out side world st art s, of course, when we are born – a rude awakening f rom t he warmt h, comf ort and securit y of t he womb t o t he harsh clinical realit ies of a hospit al room. Babies are ut t erly helpless and need t o be looked af t er, needing f ood, comf ort , warmt h and all t he ot her t hings f rom t he lower end of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. T he baby depends upon mot her and f at her f or everyt hing and – at least in a loving and caring f amily – all t hose needs are met : f ood, warmt h and love.
At some st age however t he baby, perhaps around 18 mont hs, when he or she begins t o become aware t hat t hey are separat e individuals f rom t heir parent s, begins t o realise t hat t hey need t he care of t hese adult s and wit hout t hem t hey cannot survive. T here is a bat t le bet ween want ing t o develop t heir independence whilst also being anxious not t o jeopardise t he relat ionship as t hey need t o ensure t heir saf et y cont inues. T he original uncondit ional love f or t he baby begins t o have condit ions at t ached around t heir behaviour. Exploration T he priorit ies as a child are t o learn and explore and t o develop increasing independence, t est ing it out whilst always ensuring t hat t he parent s are st ill t here and support ive. Some of t he t hings t hat t he child learns are how t o behave, what t o believe and what makes mum and dad happy and unhappy. T he nat ural inst inct s slowly st art t o become modif ied t o f it t he accept able paramet ers. T he desire t o please, t o become accept ed by ot hers, by modif ying inst inct ive behaviour becomes set down in early lif e and dominat es mot ivat ion f or some t ime t o come. In childhood years t his may be about pleasing parent s by being
a “good boy” or “good girl”, working hard in school and st icking t o t he rules. Uncertainty Emerging as t eenagers, t here is a huge change physically and emot ionally and an increasing need t o f eel independent and a desire t o f ind an ident it y. T he need f or accept ance becomes more about accept ance by peers and f riends, rat her t han parent s. Yet t here is a t ension bet ween accept ance by t he group on t he one hand and f inding a separat e ident it y on t he ot her. It is st riking what t eenagers choose t o wear and what music t hey list en t o, t here is some individualit y in t ast e, but also a great deal of conf ormit y. So clot hes are usually jeans and a t -shirt wit h what ever variat ion t he f ashion indust ry is driving at t he t ime and music t ast e is popular music rat her t han classical, jazz or anyt hing else t hat is not mainst ream. Establishment At t he end of f ormal educat ion, t he 20s and 30s are dominat ed by est ablishing ourselves as independent f rom our parent s and acquiring all t hat we need f or adult lif e. T his includes moving out of t he f amily home if t hat ’s af f ordable, f inding a way of earning a living, f inding a part ner t o share lif e wit h, maybe locat ing t o a new area and f inding new f riends. Having children is also a priorit y, alt hough increasingly t his is def erred so t hat people can est ablish t hemselves in t heir careers. T his involves ensuring t hat t he employee is accept ed now by colleagues and bosses, rat her t han just parent s and f riends. A new set of expect at ions arrive and a new level of condit ioning is acquired, as t he employee progresses at work, get t ing promot ions and new jobs along t he way. In our hect ic pressurised societ y, t he work part of our lives can dominat e all ot hers. T here comes a point where all t he lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy are basically sort ed. Consider t he f amily wit h t wo young children, where bot h parent s work, living in t heir own home wit h cars, holidays and all t hat goes wit h an af f luent middle class West ern lif est yle. Broadening T he next st age is when all t hese init ial goals and needs have been f ulf illed – t he career, t he house, t he spouse, t he kids – all acquired. At some point in mid-lif e t here may be a change in out look, perhaps t riggered by a signif icant birt hday, a quest ioning about t he job or career, a relat ionship breakdown or redundancy f or example. All of t hese could t rigger deep ref lect ion, a broadening of out look and a desire f or more meaning or maybe a new direct ion. It is what is of t en described as a “mid-lif e crisis”, alt hough it does not need t o be a crisis or a single event . Reflection T he next lif e st age is older age, probably linked t o ret irement . T he priorit ies of lif e may change again and usually work plays less of a part , a new purpose and meaning may be needed.
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