Confucius once said, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” Motivation is the desire to pursue something and to achieve various goals in life, no matter how many obstacles one must go through. To many people, motivation is the essential element to success that drives people toward who they want to be and what they want to accomplish motivation causes people to take action. From setting goals to overcoming setbacks or even the fear of failure, the key to success lies within what truly motivates and drives people to do their best and to succeed. As a young child my mom always told me motivation is a very powerful tool I can use to achieve my dreams and goals, setting goals is something I consider to be very important and valuable.
By pushing myself further and further in life—both physically and mentally— I know I have the power to accomplish any goal that I set for myself. However, many people have different tools or strategies they use to drive themselves toward their goals, dreams, and aspirations. In order to stay motivated, we must have a goal and be driven and dedicated to achieving that goal. Being able to visualize ones goal or dream is one of the most powerful motivational tools to use. This goes beyond just having an idea of what to accomplish, but it means having a detailed and organized plan of the dreams. Over the past two years, I have been through more hardships and trials than I ever imagined possible my mom got into a wreck on the interstate that should have killed her, my grandmother had a very risky and complex back surgery, my grandfather had an infection in his bloodstream that almost killed him, a serious relationship with my best friend ended, and my school schedule became really stressful.
My life seemed to be falling apan piece by piece and I thought I would never be able to have peace or get through all the pain and suffering that I was feeling; however, I kept praying to God and believed that all of my hardships were given to me for a reason and that everything would work out perfectly because god had a plan for me, and it did! Even though it seemed impossible to overcome all the obstacles I was facing, I kept my goals and dreams in mind and they turned into reality Henry David Thoreau said, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” A great example of motivation being essential to success is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In this theory, Abraham Maslow’s classification system reflects the universal needs of society as its base and then proceeds to develop emotions Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs is used to study how humans naturally interact in behavioral motivations.
He used the terms “psychological,” “safety,” “belonging and love, esteem,” and “self-actualization” to describe the patterns that human motivations generally follow. In order for motivation to occur at the next level, each level must be satisfied completely within the individual. This theory is also fundamental in understanding how drive and motivation correlate with human behavior. My personal experience, passion, organizational skills, and the fear of failure and disappointment are the motivators that allow me to succeed. Ever since I was a young child, my mom has always inspired me to follow my heart and find something I am passionate about, but I did not know what she meant or how I would accomplish that until recently, I have always wanted to work somewhere in the medical field because I have a passion and drive to help people as much as possible and to be the light in someone’s life.
I am also very passionate and absolutely love working with young children; they always manage to find a way to make me smile and laugh even when I am having a horrible day. As a result, I have decided to be a neonatal registered nurse and/or a pediatric registered nurse; I will be able to follow both of my passions, enjoy working and be able to make a positive impact in people‘s lives God has given me these passions for a reason, and that is what my mom meant about always following my heart she knew that God has a plan for my life, and just have to trust in Him and grow. Another thing that motivates me to succeed is the fear of failure. The fear of failure, also called atychiphobia or kakorrhaphophobia, is allowing fear or obstacles to prevent us from achieving our dreams and goals. With me, the fear of failure is with my grades, attendance, and discipline I obsess over having a perfect GPA because I am afraid that I will not get into the college I want—since nursing programs are so competitive.
I also despise receiving grades lower than an “A” on my school work; it gives me the sense that l have not done my best and that l have not accomplished anything in life. The fear of failure is my catalyst it ignites a spark inside of me that I cannot control. In the end, motivation is the push for people to be the best they can be and to succeed in life. Whether their drive comes from the desire to be wealthy, provide for the family, achieving fame and recognition, or set goals people use these motivators to ignite a spark that pushes them to move further and further to achieve their goals. Pope John XXIII once said, “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential, Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed, but with what it is possible for you to do.”
