The question of motivation is one that has occupied me since before I began blogging; because I regard the modern West as a profoundly demotivated society. And without powerful and robust motivation - we are easily externally manipulated, and indeed come to desire and depend-upon external motivations.
This much was recognized more than a century ago by CG Jung, whose therapy and philosophy was mainly about encouraging people to discover their own strong motivations - usually searching in our unconscious memories and emotions, and trying to strengthen and make conscious what we find.
This either foreshadowed or led-to a while branch of mainstream and popular therapy and spirituality that (in various words) suggests that people discover what they really want to do: and then do it!
Thus far - the advice would be that we each, and individuals, need to discover that which motivates us powerfully and robustly.
But, on its own, such advice implicitly assumes that all strong and enduring personal motivations are necessarily A Good Thing - or, if not good in any general of societal sense; then at least things necessary and inevitable for our personal development and happiness.
Clearly, this is not the case.
In the first place; some people are powerfully and enduringly motivated by selfish, exploitative, spiteful of destructive intentions towards other people, or other entities.
And secondly; some people are motivated by falsehoods - including the psychotic delusions of the overtly insane (which can be overpowering motivators). Such strong delusions can immiserate and even destroy the life of the person who holds them.
The conclusion seems clear: powerful and robust motivation is a very effective way of subjectively-improving the experience this mortal life - of providing direction and meaning. not enough - at least from a bigger perspective.
Unfortunately; this works almost regardless of the nature of motivation. Religious-, political-, artistic-, lifestyle-, cult-motivations of opposite and incompatible kinds, have provided similarly life-enhancing for different people.
And actually delusional (even self damaging) false beliefs and desires can motivate people towards (what apparently feels like, and perhaps is) a better everyday life overall.
Motivation Is Not Enough!
As an example from my own life: From 1994 (and I know the exact day and circumstance!) and for about 20 years I was very highly motivated as a scientist.
After a decade of working as a scientist - doing research and teaching - I "found my problem"; which was evolutionary theory as (mostly) as applied to humans, and (mostly) psychology. This strong and (relatively) lasting motivation enhanced my experience of life; and greatly enhanced my "achievement" as a scientist, albeit not my career as an academic.
However; the enhancement was partial, and was initially harmfully-distorting to my world-view; as I increasingly tended to regard my "subject" as The most fundamental description of reality. The motivation introduced a major and damaging incoherence to my "life" (in the largest sense of life).
Such harmful distortion is almost inevitable given the partial, and inevitably evil-tainted, nature of nearly-all actual specific motivations in this world.
Furthermore, after a couple of decades - which is actually a long time to be a dedicated and active scientist, not many people manage as long or longer - this motivation, and indeed all forms of motivation, faded significantly, and I was no longer self-propelled with directional vitality.
Finding my motivation was therefore substantially helpful, but contained the seeds of its own demise; and was anyway radically-insufficient in an ultimate sense.
It is because our motivations have such a foundational role in the good experiences of life, that they are so tenaciously held - and that which provides the motivation may be absurd, mistaken, or evil makes surprisingly little difference, or no difference at all.
What this adds-up-to; is that it is potentially very helpful to our enjoyment of our life, if we can discover what it is that "works for us" as a strong and lasting motivation...
But even if that is effective, and even if we succeed in the Jungian project of finding-out and following our personal "bliss"; this is an essentially subjective and idiosyncratic phenomenon; so the subject of motivation is pretty much arbitrary, may be grossly false; and may be evil (evil, even including as judged by our own evaluations).
My interpretation is that the problem of "me" having the most-satisfying and most-gratifying mortal life on earth that I can manage (albeit temporarily); is essentially separate from the ultimate problems of goodness - of truth, beauty, and virtue.
Because that which motivates effectively may be (and perhaps always is, to some significant extent) bad: false, wicked, and/or ugly.
It is therefore fortunate that the salvation of Jesus Christ does not depend upon us having found a life-enhancing motivation!
Indeed; the motivation for a person to accept, desire, work-towards resurrected eternal life in Heaven through following Jesus might well be a personal failure to discover what works for himself as a powerful and robust motivator.
Indeed; it is evident that there are many people who - by their nature or from circumstances or pathologies - are only weakly motivated; and experience their mortal lives as purposeless and meaningless.
And these relatively-unmotivated people may be more inclined to embrace the salvation of Jesus; than are those seemingly-fortunate people of greater health and vitality, whose busy and successful mortal lives are shaped and directed by some strong motivator!
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