Understanding motivation through impermanence

There are great lengths that organisations go to, to ensure motivation: slew of benefits, the best of salaries, flexible work hours, onsite opportunities, and the latest in that long list is fancy office spaces.
While all of these definitely have its merits, I often think about artists…specifically ice sculptors. What motivates them to do something, with a single minded devotion and passion, even though the end result is ephemeral? They work at a feverish pace to create a sculpture that melts away in a few hours… one wrong move and the vision they had for their sculpture is ruined and they have to start from scratch…
Probably, the motivation to create comes from the artistic release one gets, the freedom of expression, sculpting one’s thoughts into reality, the joy of just creating. The focus is on the skills, the expertise, the passion and the person itself.
Unlike the ice sculptors, for most of us, our work remains- to be revisited and reworked multiple times and to be offered in “new and improved” versions as years go by.
So in the land of permanence & revisions, what hampers motivation? Hazy goals, unclear communication, the lack of appreciation, the arbitrariness of handling people & issues…The environment does play a role, but it’s not the environment on the outside, but the environment deep within.
At the end of the day, it is about the person- what & how one feels. While external factors can definitely add to one’s inspiration, if one doesn’t feel passionately about what one does, feel a sense of personal satisfaction, feel empowered, it is a challenge to remain motivated.
By Deepti Lewis
