Motivation is innate- without it, we would be apathetic, morose and without purpose. Motivation is sometimes used interchangeably with inspiration and shares some qualities in common, they both provide energy and intention towards action. But they also different. If out in the wilderness we were unexpectedly surprised by a lion, we would not wait for an artists inspiration before acting. . No, motivation would automatically kick in our need for survival, and we would take whatever action we could to ensure we did not become the lions next meal. Thus motivation is most closely associated with our basic needs for survival, to avoid pain, hunger, thirst. and so on.
We are often motivated by external events associated with pain and reward. We may be motivated by the rewards of potential promotion, an extra raise in pay, provided for example, certain performance targets are met, and the perceived associated requirements of keeping our boss happy. The extra salary may be considered just reward for the extra effort, but equally it may be considered necessary to stay financially afloat, to pay the expense of a larger family, additional mortgage and household bills, commuter costs -the list goes on. Thus motivation can be triggerred by the perceived threat of financial insecurity. The energy from such need based motivation ebbs and flows - like the so-called "monday morning" feeling -it has the "kick-butt" necessity of having to maintain momentum. Motivation is very much a part of the "to do" culture as described in a previous post. As such motivation tends not to be long-lasting and needs to be revisited.
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing... that's why we recommend it daily."
-Zig Ziglar
"Instead of motivation look for inspiration. Inspiration comes from the same word as spirit. When you are inspired, the spirit moves you."
-Deepak Chopra
Motivation is often influenced by external sources insofar as they are perceived to affect our needs for survival, security and self-esteem. Motivation is closely associated with our ego.
Inspiration whilst at times may intertwine with motivation has a different source and quality about it. Whilst the source of motivation largely comes from without to serve basic survival needs and the needs of the ego the source of inspiration is from within and serves the higher needs of the self (sometimes described as the Higher Self, Transcendent Self, Creative Self - use your own language) The object of inspiration, may be external eg, a work of art, an image, a poem, a play, but the well of inspiration lies within. It serves the needs for self-knowledge, self -affirmation, mindfulness, and creativity. and as such serves as a channel to opening up ourselves to the stream of creativity. Inspiration is more closely associated with being, motivation more with doing.
In previous posts I have used phrases like "photo-mind" and being "in the zone" as an attempt to describe that creative space that I just occassionally reach and allows me to create rather than just take images with my camera. The relation between motivation and inspiration to this space I imagine as follows:-
Motivation always takes place outside of this space. although may have been a necessary prerequisite to compel me to pick up my camera and push myself out of the house in the first place if I had been feeling uninspired.
Inspiration is a feeling from a place within that may guide me to the works of others or guide me to writing or to my camera and to that creative space which I may refer to as "in the zone" and allows me to create . Inspiration initally exists outside and then within the zone. There is no sense of drudgery of having to do it or of watching time, it is timeless but with a sense of connection and purpose.
Where would we be without some level of motivation? Well certainly not in a good place. At best we would be apathic, or worse in a state of withdrawal from others and from nature, and at its most severe form in a state of personal self-neglect and depression. Motivation put simply, is the internal energy or the fuel that helps meet and sustain our needs. I was sufficiently motivated to write this post -the need for self expression, and those ideas sitting about in my consciousness for some time, but no particular place that I wanted for them to go -well, that is, until I discovered Google + and Blogger. We all have needs which continually seeks outward expression in some form. At base are the survival needs, to avoid hunger, dehydration, for warmth, shelter, all that equating to physical security. Beyond are psychological and social needs such as self esteem, social approval, respect, and of course love, equating to psychological and social well being. That is as far as most mammals go but we humans have another layer which grouped together form our needs for self-expression and self-realisation and within this group lies creativity and mindfulness. These layers of needs can be viewed as a heirarchy, and indeed my description is loosely based upon the heirarchy of needs as first defined by the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow back in the 1950's. In Maslow's view at its apex stands self-actualisation which approximates to full self-knowledge and understanding. In more religious terms it might equate with having a spiritual experience or vision or a state of beautification or agape. My own current goals of self- fulfillment and the aims of this blog are definitely a couple of steps down from this apex -that is, unshackling the chains and impediments to creativity. I will keep my posts on that level for I do not have sufficient self-knowledge beyond that. If I start having experiencing visions inbetween posts I will let you know - always assuming I am still capable of writing in a coherant manner.
We are not likely to be expressing our so called higher needs if our life is all about survival -stated with a large caveat. Maslow's view was that higher needs could not be fulfilled if our basic survival needs were not being met. I think it would be a limiter of truth if we were to compartmentalise all needs into boxes with non-permanable membranes. I think the so called higher needs are more maleable and can to a greater or lesser extent penetrate our survival and psycho-social needs. A person in east or central africa where finding food for survival is a full time activity may use a form of creativity to find ingenuous ways of finding food. That same person might also find comfort in having knowledge and belief in the spiritual aspects of life. Indeed where life is so unforgiving their God/s may be the only source of solace or comfort. When it comes to creativity then we have all viewed great images on Google+, Flickr or elsewhere taken in arctic like conditions where the photographer would have experienced various forms of hardship and discomfort. It has not limited their creativity. The difference of course is between experiencing hardship on a temporary basis and an acceptance of this of a necessity to creating otherwise hard to get images compared with the near pernamant state of someone living below the poverty line. A more testing case might for example be Scotts fated expedition to the Antartic in 1912. Despite the fateful outcome some remarkable pictures survive. And this in an era when cameras, tripods and accessories were much more bulkier and heavier than they are today.
I guess that while many of us have some experience of being "in the zone" when creating our images and in that experience we have certain things in common, (which I will attempt to describe in a future post) there are different levels of intensity of that experience. For example, for me it may last only minutes, perhaps whilst taking a series of shots of a single subject, to at best a few hours. It certainly does not happen every time I go out with a camera. I may go out for a day with initial enthusiasm with a clear idea of what I want to do but in the event creativity just does not switch on. The camera remains in the bag. I return from the day usually in a flat mood. "Oh well, another day" I say. Clearly all the elements that allow creativity to happen are not in place but I am not always sufficiently aware about what they are at the time. I can also have "creativity lite" or "creativity deep" In that respect it is rather like sleep, the longer it lasts generally the deeper it is.
When I talk about lite and deep I am only comparing myself with, well, myself, not with others. I can only guess that my "creativity deep" when compared to gifted individuals awash with creativitly is only equivalent to their "creativity lite". Even when I am as deeply " in the zone" as I can go and immersed in the subject I can still easily be distracted by internal or external events, a belly saying "feed me", a twitchy bladder (comes with age), a cold wind (hate it), - yes anything that has the label, itch, twitch, cold, pain, ache, singularly or in combination can do it. So, if you are one of those who can go out in arctic like conditions and get great images, I ask "How do you do it?" in a sense of how do prepare yourself mentally, not your camera or clothing outfit. Comments welcome below
Before starting this blog I hesitated and procrastinated, one of my main doubts being:- "Will I have enough to say?" Well, no problem there, it seems. The words are flowing onto the screen, and I have an outline of what my next few posts will or may contain. I will keep each post reasonably short - it is not my aim to test your attention span to destruction or to induce a "logged on but in coma" state. Hopefully in time as my blog gets more views my future posts will be mediated by you as reader, commentator, critic, provider of feedback and if you wish as a guest blogger. Next post , Inspiration, just off to find some!
