Motivation at the Center of Life

July 7, 2023 Motivation No Comments

Motivation is life. Life is motivation. More than a philosophical nicety, this is relevant to everyone, everywhere, always.

Please see beyond the philosophy and into the crucial pragmatic importance.

From the start of life

Life starts where some structure (such as the precursor of a proto-bacterium) tries to consolidate itself. To do so, this structure needs to surmount the entropy (mounting chaos) that is present everywhere around it, as everywhere in the universe.

Of course, at the start, this striving for consolidation is not to be called ‘motivation.’ Still, from the start, it is already the principle where all life’s motivation originates. Meanwhile, over a very long time, life evolves naturally toward more complex structures. ‘Motivation’ evolves accordingly.

Thus, from the start, motivation is at the center of life ― where it remains.

Motivation is needed continually.

All the way through, life evolves in an environment of entropy. Therefore, it needs to continually defend itself against dissolution. This points in two directions:

Life ensures an ‘ocean of energy’ (deep motivation) is available if only one can reach that.
This reaching becomes more difficult in a state of inner dissociation. Given the above-mentioned continual need, this brings the continual danger of energy depletion. In a work situation, we speak of burnout.

This makes the road to burnout long and winding.

Motivation is central to all human aspects.

Since we are living organisms, this should be no surprise in light of the above.

Positively and negatively, it has to be taken literally ― obviously, with some thought. For instance:

Climate change results from many people’s motivations to consume mindlessly ― or be content with little.
A criminal never commits a crime without being motivated to do so ― or not being motivated to walk a straight line.
A student can focus attention for a prolonged time if he is motivated to attain the results in spite of possibly more immediate gratification.
Behind psychosomatic chronic pain lies a deep motivation for something to come to the mental surface and get realized ― in vain.
The patriotism of a soldier in a war situation is his desire to defend what symbolically appears to him as his kin.
At a broader level, cultures can also be seen as structures that strive for consolidation. This is relevant to ‘culture as a living being.’

What ‘at the center’ means in AURELIS coaching

At the center of AURELIS coaching always lies the search for deep motivation. Why did the coachee evolve in this or that direction? How can he change/grow into a more congruent direction with his deeper self, more at the center of himself as a person?

Finding the coachee’s true goals – which I describe as the main active ingredient of AURELIS coaching – looks like a diagnostical endeavor. More so, however, an excellent ‘diagnosis’ already equals the central part of the solution. This shows that excellent coaching is also very much ‘alive’ ― much more than an instrumental endeavor.

It’s a dance around the motivational center of the coachee.

Coaching is everywhere.