With tired eyes and being just about ready to close shop, my barber picked up his clippers in preparation to give me a haircut, the buzzing sound breaking the silence of the empty barbershop.
We then got into talking about men’s hair care as he carried on with his usual skill and precision, but I began to notice from a reflection in the mirror just how tired he was. He had once told me that he estimated that he cuts the hair of 60 or more clients a day, and the usually jovial barber was understandably drained. He talked about a physically exhausting working day, tired feet and a single day off, topped off by a salary that needed to be spent with prudence. Despite all of this, he went to bed, woke up the following morning and started all over again. He has a family and himself to feed.
There are different reasons as to why people continue doing what they do in spite of the challenges that may pop up. In school, a student might study hard in the hope of securing a spot at a good university. In the workplace, we might want a higher salary, recognition or a promotion. Sometimes it is not even the reward that becomes the driving factor, but the satisfaction of a need, such as making enough money to ensure that one does not starve. Some motivation theories may offer some insight and an explanation.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, for example, is a popular five-category pyramid that displays human needs through a hierarchical structure, with basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid needing to be satisfied before moving up to more advanced ones. According to the Simply Psychology website, starting from the bottom, the levels of the pyramid are: physiological needs (food, water, shelter); Safety needs (personal security, employment, health); Love and belonging (friendship, intimacy); Esteem (self-esteem, respect); and self-actualisation (“the desire to become the most that one can be”). Once the lower parts are satisfied, self-actualisation then becomes the main motivator, the article said.
Although we may understand what motivates us, regardless of the drive and a view of what lies ahead, finding the motivation to continue doing something may still prove to be undoubtedly difficult. Perhaps our lack of motivation would make it harder to get out of bed and get ready for work, while performing in the best shape seems to be much harder than the previous day. Maybe the gym seems much further away from you than it actually is. Maybe standing and cutting hair for over 50 people is too exhausting to start another day. For students, there might have been a point where the question “is this worth it?” might have popped up, but it is important to remind oneself that there are reasons to stay motivated. But how?
The online article “Motivation: How to get started and staying motivated” from Healthdirect Australia offers some tips such as regularly reviewing one’s goals and progress, continuing to set goals, surrounding oneself with positive people and finding a mentor. They also give tips on what to do when one loses motivation including reviewing one’s goals and checking to see if they are realistic in the set timeframe or taking a break and starting over again.
A Verywell Mind website article titled “5 Surprising Ways to Get Motivated”, suggests, among other things, to use incentives carefully without becoming overdependent on them to get motivated, and to focus on the journey instead of the outcome. The tip that I found to be most important is not to simply picture success without considering the challenges or the effort that may come with the achieving success. This highlights the importance of understanding the steps, challenges and strategies in overcoming the challenges.
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