What Motivates You?

Korrin B.

December 10, 2009 - 11:53 AM

Something incredible happened to me this term. One of my finals was a research paper for my Mental Illness in Literature class. The deadline for the paper was today, Thursday, December 10 by noon. It is almost noon now, so it would be expected that my readers may be feeling a little nervous, wondering why I'm sitting here writing this blog instead of rushing my way to campus in order to turn my paper in on time. Usually I would be nervous as well. I always begin thinking about my essays right when they are assigned with good intentions of starting them early. I have always toyed with this idea of starting a paper early so that I can actually take the time to make it as great as I know I can and to avoid 2:00am proofreading sessions that don't always work out so well. Somehow, however, it never goes the way I planned it in my head. I'm learning to accept that ideal situations are rarely reality, but that this fact doesn't make reality bleak. Anyway, I did learn that having a motivation helps.

Career center employees and professional team builders write book after book about motivating people, give talk after talk about motivation's importance in the work force, and lead training after training on what can come from knowing what motivates you. My paper was due on Thursday, I wanted to finish it earlier so that I could focus more on packing for Israel, finishing last minute errands, and, well, kickin' it with my homies. I knew the likely outcome though. It would be Wednesday night and I would be stuck at home or on the fourth floor of the Knight Library grumbling my way through each paragraph. However, as I stated at the beginning of this post, something incredible happened to me this term.

It was as if I had a life coach, sitting right next to me, probably wearing some sort of polo shirt and khaki pants, staring at me with determination, head cocked to the side, and asking, "Korrin, what motivates you? That is what we need to find." And I looked back at him, as if I had just reached some sort of grand epiphany, light in my eyes, and replied, "Bingo, man, Wednesday night Bingo."

If I didn't finish my paper early, there would be no last Bingo of the term. So, with the three B's (Bingo, burger, and brew) as a holy shrine within my mind, I worked all day and all night on Tuesday, crafting the perfect paper. I wrote about Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wall-Paper," and how the narrator is unable to heal her emotional problems due to the complex relationship she has with her husband because of his dual role as a doctor. I found some awesome psychology studies to back it up and I even went to the library to find them, versus just going online. I love the library! I think my paper turned out pretty nice, but I guess I shall know if it really was any good by Monday of next week. I turned it in early Wednesday afternoon, a full twenty-four hours before its due date. It was a first in my college career and a beautiful moment.

Today's challenge for you: Stop and think about what truly motivates you, no matter how silly it may sound.