Filter Coffee #059

On Motivation & Inspiration

Dear Readers,

FC #58 on friendship, love and affection was warmly received and the reactions have been very encouraging. Thank you all.

Many were surprised that I had a go at a career in the Army. I was asked if I had a picture to share. Those were days when there were no phone cameras. A box camera with Kodak film in it was in vogue but was beyond our means. There was a group photograph taken and my friend and co-adventurer Shyam Mohan had a copy and was happy to share it with all of you. He is No.12 in the picture. Ironically I was assigned number 1 not knowing I would finish last.

August 15th 2021 marks the 75th Independence Day of our country, the first independence day being 15th August 1947. I wish you all a Happy Independence day.

It may not be out of place to look back in time and remorsefully recall the collateral damage that freedom caused that time. If you haven’t read it already, I recommend reading the much-acclaimed book ‘Freedom At Midnight’ by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. They have re-created the turbulent end of an era when 400 million people claimed their freedom from the British and the price they paid was partition, war, riots, mayhem and murder. You can download the free PDF version of the book using this link.

There’s another book written by Narendra Singh Sarila, who was heir to the princely state of Sarila in central India. He was an ADC to Lord Mountbatten, but later joined the IFS, where he worked from 1948 to 1985. He also served as India's ambassador to Spain, Brazil, Libya, Switzerland and France. His book is titled: The Shadow of the Great Game: The Untold Story of Partition.

If you prefer a film inspired by both ‘Freedom at Midnight’ and the ‘Great Game’, you should watch  ‘Viceroy’s House’ produced in 2017by Gurinder Chadda. It features Hugh Bonneville as Lord Mountbatten. Hugh is well known for his portrayal as Lord Crawley in Downton Abbey. The music score is by A R Rahman.

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💡 Motivation and Inspiration

Sometime during the second week of June 2020, when I complained about the boredom and the isolation brought about by the pandemic, my wife, son and daughter motivated me to gainfully utilise the time by writing on topics of general interest. On July 5th, 2020, I published FC #01 which was well received. Since then, the comments and appreciation of my readers have kept me motivated and I have completed 58 editions — you are now looking at FC# 59. Thank you all.

Merriam-Webster defines inspiration as “something that makes someone want to do  something” and it defines motivation as “giving someone a reason for doing something.”

Motivation is an extension of the word motive. By itself, ‘motive’ can sometimes have a negative connotation. Like ulterior motives. It implies that the person who has an ulterior motive has some dishonest intention, is doing something with a hidden agenda or has something up his sleeve. For example, “He offered a discount with the ulterior motive of getting rid of a defective product.” 

Motivation is situation-specific and a positive influence. It encourages people to undertake a task or achieve something. Demotivation makes you less enthusiastic and you may lack interest in what you do. For example, if you say ‘my boss is a control freak and I don’t feel like taking any initiative’, that would be an indication of demotivation.

It becomes clear that ‘motivation’ is an external stimulus that prompts you to do something. It is a kind of catalyst. You may have the ability to do something but not necessarily have the will to do it. With proper motivation, you could find yourself undertaking the task.

Inspiration is an internal stimulus that is required to do something creative. If someone says “I need the inspiration to do a painting or write poetry” it implies that a certain cerebral stimulus is required. You can’t inspire someone with motivation. For example, you may commission someone to do a painting for a price but the painter will work on the painting only when he has the inspiration.

What kind of motivation would work? Consider the following situations:

1. As a reward for doing their homework, you promise your child chocolates and TV time.

2. Your child is asked to finish their homework and help you bake a cake. 

3. You compare your child’s performance with that of their classmate.

4. You appreciate what the child does and tell them that they are capable of doing better.

In the first case, the child feels entitled to those rewards each time the homework is completed and hence it becomes an inducement and not motivation.

In the second case, you have sensed that the child is eager to help you bake a cake and so you use it as a motivation.

The third example represents demotivation. The child may feel inferior or incapable.

The fourth represents positive reinforcement, motivating the child into believing that she can do better.

All these forms of motivation can be applied to any situation whether it be your workplace or home or society in general.

What kind of inspiration would propel someone to do something? Consider the following:

1. A situation can inspire you — like when you see something breathtaking.

2. If you are a creative thinker, the inspiration can come from within.

3. A person can inspire you, an icon Mother Theresa or even an ordinary person.

4. Inspiration leads to action. If you are inspired you need to act on that stimulus otherwise it is not inspiration in the true sense.

Basically, motivation is the reason for doing something and inspiration is the want or the desire to do something. Unlike mediation which is transient or situational, inspiration is part of the psyche and it lives on. 

You may have come across motivational speakers. These are people who address a group of people who are in somewhat similar places in their lives and share with them life’s learnings, stories and share experiences. Shiv Khera is one such motivational speaker. Referring to motivation he says: 

• “Motivation is like fire – unless you keep adding fuel to it, it dies. Your fuel is your belief in your inner values.”

• “The best teachers will not give you something to drink, they will make you thirsty. They will not give you answers but will put you on a path to seek those answers”

While motivation is an external force, inspiration is an internal force but can have an external trigger. You could be inspired by your role model, for instance. An external source plays an active role in motivation but that source could be passive when it comes to inspiration. For example, Groucho Marx says in a humorous and yet sarcastic way: “I find television very educational, every time someone switches it on, I go to the other room and read a book.”  

Do you agree that either his dislike for TV is the motivation for reading a book or that he finds reading a book inspiring as opposed to watching television? Let me know what you think.

I end with a quote from Steve Jobs:

“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

The pandemic lingers on. The desire to stay safe motivates you to follow all the safety measures and you then inspire others around you to do likewise. Take care and stay safe. See you next week!