A matter of motivation

It's pretty much accepted that money is not the chief motivator when it comes to our working lives. It plays a part to a point, but for the majority of us, there has to be more to our job than the pay packet at the end of the week or month or whenever.

Whether you're one of those who truly enjoy what you do or you see your employment as solely a means to an end, the real motivation to keep going generally comes from somewhere other than the 'dirty cash'.

This is missing enjoyment ... (From http://www.securens.in)

It could be that you feel what you do gives you meaning, that quest to find fulfilment, or other life factors — doing it for your children, the ability to travel, a stepping stone to something greater, etc. — give you the push to keep at it.

Pays the bills

From a personal perspective, if it was just about the loot, I'd kick The Colombia Cast podcast to touch, not to mention this blog, and be much less bothered about IQuiz. The podcast is, for now anyway and like this blog always has been, purely a labour of love while IQuiz is more or less in the same boat.

"Keep the head down and drink the free coffees."

The new (can I still call it new after four months?) and time-consuming full-time job more than pays the bills. This is not to say it's really well-paid, it's just my overheads are not that high. Another plus point for the "barrio popular". That and the fact I've now less free time to actually enjoy my salary.

This is where the money plays a role. It's not that it motivates per se, it's more a case that in the absence of other sources of steady income, it fills a hole.

Yet, as mentioned before, the mentality of offering your services to third parties, parties that you don't have any direct dealings with and don't always agree with their message, is something I find hard to fathom.

I've been used to work, be it as an independent or with others, where I've been, or at least felt, intrinsically involved in the output. In this current gig, that's much less the case. That feeling of not really being involved doesn't tend to leave one disposed to give their all.

Underworked, overpaid?

Now, it would be a whole lot worse — a resigning matter really — if my position was very taxing. It's not. This isn’t to say it’s a case of being underworked and overpaid. The downtimes allow me to concentrate on my personal projects.

"It's our show, so play that goddamn tune, piper!"

What's more, when the hardest part of your working day amounts to not much more than making sure you arrive on time, it's not a bad state of affairs. Well, that and biting my lip sometimes when advertising copy I write is changed by non-native English speakers to something I feel is inferior. "The client is always right, even when they're wrong." "Then why bother asking for my input in the first place?" "Just play the goddamn tune, piper!"

A moment's breath usually sees me right. It's not my brand or company I'm doing it for after all. Let it go.

So, you might ask, if that's the height of my grievances, why make an issue out of it? Keep the head down, drink your free coffees, take your monthly pay and repeat.

Satisfaction, that's what's at play. Having that feeling that our talents are being used in the most appropriate way. Doing what we should be doing, or at least what we think we should be doing. It's what we all strive for, isn't it?

People might say, and have said, "Sure you'll never be happy." That's the thing. This pursuit of happiness is what keeps us all going.

It's not that we're fundamentally unhappy, not at all. It's that there's always another level to reach. That's where the motivation lies.
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Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan - The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Finding that happy place

Depression, as we know, is an illness of the mind. That being so, some view it as a condition that can be cured, or at least managed, by the power of the mind alone. In over-simplified terms, 'will ourselves into a happier state'.

In relation to non-clinical depression that most of us go through on occasions, there is merit to that. 

For example, and not meaning to be facetious here, there's no point getting ourselves down over such an uncontrollable thing as the weather. If it's raining there's nothing we can do about it, but we can take measures to prevent ourselves getting wet all the same.

Happiness isn't always just in the mind; the place plays its part, too.

If it's our routine and work that has us at a low ebb, the old saying, 'a change is as good as a rest', might be the remedy. That's perhaps easier for some to do than others; it depends on our education, employment position, financial standing and suchlike. (It must be noted here that it is, generally speaking, those who have access to more opportunities who tend to find themselves thinking this way.)

Yet for others, whether it's momentary depression or one that has been clinically diagnosed, the place of residence plays its part. That is to say they're content at what they are at, but they feel they're doing it in the wrong place, usually inhabited by people not quite of their ilk.

In such a scenario, simply willing yourself out of this delicate mental state is nigh on impossible. You basically have to get up and go to feel happier, but the get-up-and-go required to do that is often lacking, especially in major depression cases.

In milder instances, a short break from our normal environment does the trick; the key is to take them regularly. (For the record, while we like Bogotá, getting out of the metropolis is needed every now and again.) 

For most working- to middle-class people, regardless of marital status or offspring to cater for, escaping on a regular basis for short periods is doable.

It's a far more complicated issue, though, if you feel no love at all for where you are, to the point that the actual place and people are the chief reasons for your depressed state, yet you have a significant other who is content there and has no desire to leave. An immovable object meets an unstoppable force. Either a compromise is reached or the relationship is pretty much doomed.

There are those who say that love conquers all and if it doesn't then it wasn't meant to be. Perhaps that's the case. 'If you loved me enough you'd live with me even in hell' kind of thing. 

However, staying in a place you detest for the sole purpose of maintaining a long-standing relationship, and one that seemed solid at that, certainly doesn't seem like the key to a life full of happiness.

Finding that happy state isn't always a matter of mind over mud, so to put it. On occasions that mud you're treading on plays a big part, for better or for worse.

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Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan - The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".