The subject of improvement is very topical as a result of last night’s State of the Union address. The goal of this entry is not to criticize President Barack Obama’s agenda; but rather, to show how the key to improvement is motivation.
Is there an aspect of your life that you believe can be better? I’m sure you can identify at least one thing you’d like to change. The question is, are you going to change it? How much does it mean to you to make that change?
That’s when motivation comes into the conversation. As human beings, we can be motivated by many things: values, causes, peers or even politics. Motivation is a feeling; a sensation; an impulse. Also, it is a drive to action, which, unfortunately, we as human beings are sometimes afraid to execute.
The President’s speech reflected on the American Dream: hard work creates opportunity. I am a millennial. I am part of a generation that, on occasion, has been perceived as not working as hard as our baby boomer parents. As I entered adulthood, I started to recognize the sacrifices that my parents made. I recognized if I wanted to achieve a goal, I would probably have to make a sacrifice too.
When I decided it was time to take my career to the next level, I enrolled in a master’s degree program and pursued it while working full-time. I didn’t want to take out student loans and my parents weren’t going to foot the bill. Working full-time was my only option. Although, looking back, I would not have pursued my degree any other way. Not only am I more content with where my career stands, also I am happy with the time management skill that I mastered (pun intended) along the way.
Millennials and younger generations cannot lose sight of the American Dream. We won’t succeed by living with a reckless sense of entitlement. We need to be motivated by something; we need to work hard and see how our hard work pays off.
What’s your motivation? How do you motivate yourself? Share your advice in the comments section.
This post is my contribution to the Your Turn Challenge. I am joining thousands of secretly inspiring people in challenging myself to write and ship one blog post every day for seven days. Today is day three of the challenge. Click the hyperlink above for more information.
