‘The best things in life aren’t things’
Art Buchwald 1925 – 2007
As a psychologist I am interested in human motivation, I mean, what makes us get out of bed in the morning and fundamentally what drives our behaviour? There is an extremely interesting discussion taking place at the moment; it is about the things we feel we need to get in life for us to reach a state of being happy, successful and fulfilled. I am sure if you closed your eyes right now and visualised what happiness and success meant to you, typically the picture would be very positive and pretty, filled with much luxury and wealth and often things that are out of reach in our lives today! It is these aspiring visions that motivate us and drive our behaviour and ultimately may end up defining us.
Naturally, these ‘symbols’ become the parameters by which we live our lives. For us they form our signposts of ‘success’ and influence the roadmap and path that we strive towards. When we take actions to achieve, it is these goalposts that direct our behaviour. We follow them in the hope that a flag post of ‘achievement’ at each spot will ultimately lead us closer to ‘happiness’ and ‘peace’.
Usually we have much to proud of, however, with the recession well and truly impacting our lives at the moment many people are being effected and managed out of their jobs day in day out. You could conclude that people are feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable with the amount of change and pressure this economy is presenting.
This dilemma is encouraging many people to re examine their signposts and question ultimately what makes them happy and fulfilled. Very quickly individuals are realising that material gain and security that they once strived towards is most definitely temporary and uncertain. The only way in which we can truly create these feelings, is from within, not from outside.
Have a go at identifying what motivates your behaviour and actions. List these things and then state the feeling you hope to achieve by possession of these objects. Now empower yourself and think about how you can create these feelings already, from within. When you do this, you are using the power and strength from within you to give you a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. When you rely on external objects to give you those sensations you are reliant on uncertainty and things that are out of your control. Ultimately, you create how you feel, so go ahead, create that mansion from within!