The evolution of what motivates...

I recently set up my new workspace and decided to unpack some boxes I had labelled office eight years ago — long enough to be as much different as I am the same. Time is funny that way.

Some of what I found came in handy, some went into the garbage reflecting a new definition of utility, and three motivational wall hangings received a reprieve from their confinement.

Dream your tomorrow

Believe in your dreams

Keep calm and carry on

I am not sure why I chose these sayings back then — did they really resonate with me or did I just have lots of wall space that needed to be covered? I’m leaning to the latter, for no other reason than they just don’t offer much in the way of motivation anymore. As I look at the words, I find them trite, and although there is a place for vision (and vision boards), I find them soft. I do realize Keep Calm and Carry On is a reminder regarding how to deal with bombs that are literally being dropped on your head, but I would suggest that these words have been turned into a merchandiser’s dream and lost any original meaning, and most definitely the character that lies behind it.

As I look through a different lens, I find my resurrected motivators are soft and without character to actually make things happen… and maybe that is it.

My lesson coming out of the pandemic is movement really matters — both literally and figuratively. It is how you develop the ability to get through things and with it, develop knowledge, strength, grit, and the ability keep your wits about you. And the more difficult the better!

Because Easy doesn’t change you

Comfort Kills

Work harder, nobody cares

Prepare for the unknown

Sure, these are also somewhat trite and can definitely be found on t-shirts in your Instagram feed, but they do reinforce that success and growth only happen when it’s hard and you have to put in the work.

This can not be found in dreams.

I will admit all of this is half baked and something I pondered the other day when I got a little nostalgic — and in the end, maybe just the evolution of the words I look to motivate me. But as an aside, if you have found that your dreams have come true, you’re comfortable and everything is easy-peasy, I wish you luck and there is no need to explain.

I understand. I just don’t care...*

… I have work to do.

iamgpe

*— this definitely came from a t-shirt which some of my friends will be receiving for Christmas.

As credos go, it may be the most important...

There are reasons we needed to move seven cubic yards of gravel through 175 yards of forest to a meadow (that’s 160 meters for those of you who prefer the metric system). And because of this task, a number of facts got researched on the Internet —

• Seven cubic yards of gravel will weigh between 16,800 – 20,300 pounds (6,616 – 9,205 kilograms)

• You can use either a two cubic foot wheelbarrow or a three cubic foot wheelbarrow for this kind of work.

• There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard

• On average a cubic foot of gravel weighs 330 pounds (or about 150 kilograms)

• Approximately six shovelfuls (heaping) make up a cubic foot

• There are somewhere between 9 and 14 wheel barrow trips per cubic yard (depending on the size of the wheel barrow and how much gravel you put in it)

• The maximum sweat rate for a trained athlete is about 2-3 litres/hour; this results in a 2-3% decrease in body weight (I’m not an trained athlete and definitely a “sweater”, so let’s say it’s more for me)

The pile was something we had been working on over the past couple of weekends and my goal was to move what was remaining so we could get onto other things — I affectionately call it Egyptian slave labour because it involves moving stone from one place to another without dying on the way.

With food and water to power my way, one pile got smaller while another got bigger — and as the day progressed, my sweat soaked shirt started to weigh on me and I needed to set the wheelbarrow down more regularly between piles. As I dumped the last load I said to no one, “I’m done”; I wasn’t making a statement but rather a realization that there was no more I could do.

I wasn’t finished moving the pile of gravel and I wasn’t quitting — I was just spent, and could do no more.  

When I came back to the small pile I tried to motivate myself to finish it off — there really wasn’t much left but I couldn’t; I had done my best and after giving it my all, I fell short. What else can you can ask when you have done your best and there was no more to give? (As an aside, is it me or does life seem like one big meme.)

I should also point out that all of this was accomplished while staying true to the Egyptian slave labourer credo, “Do it without dying on the way”. Because after all, there is always tomorrow and you’re still alive to make it happen.

 iamgpe

Moments — shortcuts don't work

As the seminar was coming to an end she emphatically stated —

“Shortcuts don’t work!”

It’s not that I hadn’t heard this before, or that I don’t understand what it means, but for some reason it seemed to resonate with me deeply — maybe it was her enthusiasm, or maybe her conviction, or maybe because it was an informative seminar. The context wasn’t about finding a file on your computer faster (although important), but rather about how a whole plant food diet can offer a healthier and longer life. I think the catalyst to her saying what she did was when someone asked about taking supplements opposed to eating healthy.

With her emphatic pronouncement, she was trying to stress that something important (and worth doing) requires unavoidable work, and although you can always be more efficient and effective, you still need to put in the time. In this case it was a healthy diet, but it could easily be about developing expertise, building a business, or becoming an influencer.

It was push back on a world with growing expectations for convenience and requirements for instantaneous gratification. She offered up the important realization that nothing comes without a price — there’s rarely is a magic bullet.

Overall it was a very good seminar for my health and an excellent reminder regarding some of the other things I do.

iamgpe