In a world that swirls and twirls with adversities and turmoils, in an arena that swarms with predators of all sorts, ready to devour the innocent and the unknowing, and in a compound that so often deceives us with empty promises of a light at the end of a tunnel, it is drastically vital to conceive the grounds on which the rocks of humanity stand, and what drives us to move on in the face of adversaries. In the same field of question is the point whereby the human mind succumbs to stress and depression as a result of the circumstances that embalm them. What makes us vulnerable to stress? What motivates us to move on in spite of stress? On the note of a personal opinion, I fully believe that each individual has a contrasting 'breaking point'. This scenario can be likened to the physical concept of natural frequency and resonance, whereby the example of a glass pane is used. Based on my limited knowledge of physics, a glass pane ordinarily vibrates at a natural frequency pre-determined by the forces of nature. If a sound wave vibrates at the same frequency as the glass pane, resonance is said to be achieved. Therefore when the frequency of the sound wave exceeds that of the natural frequency of the glass pane, the pane will eventually break. This has been tested by sopranos with wine glasses and has proven conclusive; similarly each of us vibrates at a natural frequency. Every human can only withstand so much before the system of the human mind succumbs to one of its greatest enemies - stress.
I am well and fully sure that everyone reading this right now possesses the knowledge on the means to fight stress, how to overcome its powers and how to keep calm in the face of turmoil. What one does not know, however, is that there is an area known as 'The Overrated Motivators of The Human Entity'. I shall refer to them as Overrated Motivators, OM's for short. OM's are in reality things that motivate us so much in the beginning, but turn out to be gargantuan failures which cause us to stumble terribly later on. OM's are SO dangerous because once these snap, lowliness and distress sets in almost immediately. These little mines are even more deadly than actual circumstances that gradually lead to stress. A worker who is constantly under pressure by his superiors to consistently upgrade his level of work is actually less likely to succumb to stress in comparison to another worker who is promised a certain level of recognition or reward if his work succeeded, and is left alone along the way but in the end discovers that all he has done was not worthy of the reward at all. That promise of an outcome, or the so-called gurantee of a light at the end of the tunnel, is the overrated motivator. Once the motivator actually snaps, it wouldn't be very motivating anymore. The worker would feel useless and depressed, finding no reason to carry on in what he is doing.
Similarly in life, it is generally advisable not to establish high hopes in something which may in the end bring you down. Something which motivates you to accomplish ur tasks, something which pushes you on in the face of adversity, and something that enables you to carry on even though you fail - beware of these motivators. Do not rely solely on them, but rely on yourself and your heart. What you believe will stay firm, and most importantly, cling on to God always.
That being said, I myself testify to being a victim of an overrated motivator. I am a student at a local college which offers schorlarships at the time of entry based on secondary government assessment results. The requirements to be entitled for these scholarships were surprisingly low, but I will not disclose these requirements. I attained straight A's in that particular assesment, which enabled me to start college with an 80% tuition fee waiver, the only condition being that I have to keep an average of 65% throughout my course to keep my scholarship. Being a fairly capable student at that time, I thought to myself that 65% would not be that hard to maintain. I therefore did my part, equipped myself with whatever necessary and bravely came face to face with my first semester final exams. When the results were announced, I was shocked that my average garnered a mark below 65%. I was, of course, reasonably dissatisfied and proceeded with bombarding the education dean with serious questions about the system of education in the college. As a result of that, it was concluded that there WAS a mistake in marking and my grades were restored, thus reinstating my scholarship. With that in mind, I hoped not to repeat the same mistake in my 2nd semester, the one which I just completed. Unfortunately, things did not change as the same luck befell me. The system was that throughout the semester, there would be minor tests and assignments to assess each student before sitting for the real final exam, each of which contributed a protion of our overall grades. To be honest, I did relatively well in EVERY SINGLE assessment that was posed to me. But when the FINAL results were thrown in my face, all I wanted to do was tear my clothes in agony - my motivator had once again failed me. This all happened TODAY.
This time, I asked around and found out that I was not the only person with the same luck. I proceeded to uncover that out of 10 students, only 2 would retain their scholarships by the end of the first semester. Was it all a gimmick to attract students to the college by offering them schorlarships at such a low requirement? This scenario is still twirling inside my mind, and giving me sleepless nights, antagonizing me with probes about my future. With my nights longer than the days, the only other thing that motivates me is.. Oh well. I shall not proclaim such. It might be overrated again.
I am well and fully sure that everyone reading this right now possesses the knowledge on the means to fight stress, how to overcome its powers and how to keep calm in the face of turmoil. What one does not know, however, is that there is an area known as 'The Overrated Motivators of The Human Entity'. I shall refer to them as Overrated Motivators, OM's for short. OM's are in reality things that motivate us so much in the beginning, but turn out to be gargantuan failures which cause us to stumble terribly later on. OM's are SO dangerous because once these snap, lowliness and distress sets in almost immediately. These little mines are even more deadly than actual circumstances that gradually lead to stress. A worker who is constantly under pressure by his superiors to consistently upgrade his level of work is actually less likely to succumb to stress in comparison to another worker who is promised a certain level of recognition or reward if his work succeeded, and is left alone along the way but in the end discovers that all he has done was not worthy of the reward at all. That promise of an outcome, or the so-called gurantee of a light at the end of the tunnel, is the overrated motivator. Once the motivator actually snaps, it wouldn't be very motivating anymore. The worker would feel useless and depressed, finding no reason to carry on in what he is doing.
Similarly in life, it is generally advisable not to establish high hopes in something which may in the end bring you down. Something which motivates you to accomplish ur tasks, something which pushes you on in the face of adversity, and something that enables you to carry on even though you fail - beware of these motivators. Do not rely solely on them, but rely on yourself and your heart. What you believe will stay firm, and most importantly, cling on to God always.
That being said, I myself testify to being a victim of an overrated motivator. I am a student at a local college which offers schorlarships at the time of entry based on secondary government assessment results. The requirements to be entitled for these scholarships were surprisingly low, but I will not disclose these requirements. I attained straight A's in that particular assesment, which enabled me to start college with an 80% tuition fee waiver, the only condition being that I have to keep an average of 65% throughout my course to keep my scholarship. Being a fairly capable student at that time, I thought to myself that 65% would not be that hard to maintain. I therefore did my part, equipped myself with whatever necessary and bravely came face to face with my first semester final exams. When the results were announced, I was shocked that my average garnered a mark below 65%. I was, of course, reasonably dissatisfied and proceeded with bombarding the education dean with serious questions about the system of education in the college. As a result of that, it was concluded that there WAS a mistake in marking and my grades were restored, thus reinstating my scholarship. With that in mind, I hoped not to repeat the same mistake in my 2nd semester, the one which I just completed. Unfortunately, things did not change as the same luck befell me. The system was that throughout the semester, there would be minor tests and assignments to assess each student before sitting for the real final exam, each of which contributed a protion of our overall grades. To be honest, I did relatively well in EVERY SINGLE assessment that was posed to me. But when the FINAL results were thrown in my face, all I wanted to do was tear my clothes in agony - my motivator had once again failed me. This all happened TODAY.
This time, I asked around and found out that I was not the only person with the same luck. I proceeded to uncover that out of 10 students, only 2 would retain their scholarships by the end of the first semester. Was it all a gimmick to attract students to the college by offering them schorlarships at such a low requirement? This scenario is still twirling inside my mind, and giving me sleepless nights, antagonizing me with probes about my future. With my nights longer than the days, the only other thing that motivates me is.. Oh well. I shall not proclaim such. It might be overrated again.
No comments:
Post a Comment