MOTIVATION

Kushaan Sethi
2110110300

’It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”. William Shakespeare, one of the
greatest writers and poets of all time said this phrase when he achieved success and
understood the concept of motivation. For me, to date, the concept is tough to comprehend
and during this winter break through different experiences, I finally learned about the
ideology of motivation.

Seeing some of my colleagues do winter internships, workshops, and orientations. All of this
made me feel extremely unproductive. My friends and family could have been my
motivators, inspirations but instead, all I felt was an extreme degree of being valueless and
barren. As lazy and lethargic as I am when I’m deprived of playing sports or meeting my
friends I fell into the circle of social media where every other day I used to look at short
YouTube videos hoping to gain some knowledge, hoping that one day I would watch a
motivational clip and finally get up from my cozy bed. One day, the YouTube algorithm got
to me and repetitively displayed small clips from different podcasts ranging from sports to
politics. The type of clips that were coming up the most were motivational shorts with
influential people sharing their experiences, each more interesting and engaging than the
other. Out of maybe a hundred clips, two of them just could not leave my head and
continued to resonate with me.

The first clip was of a famous mountaineer, who shared his experiences about the different
mountaineering experiences he had completed and the battles he faced along the way. In
the clip, he explained that during one of his treks, he met a group of five boys outside a tuck
shop at one of the topmost points of that mountain. He wanted to try out an experiment
where he tells the boys that he has a hundred rupee note with him. He says, “Who all wants
this note?”. Not to a surprise, all of them raised their hands. Then, he crumples that note
and asks the same question. As we all would assume, the answer remained the same from
the group of boys. The mountaineer even went to the extent to throw the note on the
ground and step on it, but the answer remained the same. In the clip, he explained that
even with endless creases on the note or dirt on it, the value of it will always remain the
same. He says that there would time in life when you would be bruised, put down, and hurt
but no matter what happens, you never lose your value.

This made me realize that everyone has their hardships, some tougher than what maybe
you’re going through but even in this phase of life you would never lose your value. Your
true essence and individuality would prevail over time and always shine.

The second clip was a TED Talk by Stacey Abrams, an American politician, lawyer, voting
rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to
2017. Stacey who is still running in the US elections from the democratic party is yet to
achieve her goal but this story about her high school days is one of the most inspiring stories
I have heard in a while. Stacey was a valedictorian in her high school in Georgia. At that
time, each valedictorian of the state would get the opportunity to meet the governor of
Georgia. Her family was extremely excited and proud of Stacey. Although, for her the
fascinating bit was not just meeting the governor also going to a big mansion, getting a gist
of how the world of wealth and power works. In Georgia, a lot of people depended on
public transit and the Abrams finally were one of them. Starting their day on a public bus,
when they got off the bus they went up to the guard at the gate. The guard looked at
Stacey, and her family, and all he said is that “ You don’t belong here, this is a private
event”. Her father tries to explain to the guard that her daughter is one of the valedictorians
who is invited to this event. The guard didn’t believe what Stacey’s father said, neither did
he ask her mother for the invite that she had in her hands. Instead, what he did was look
over their shoulders at the bus that dropped him. For him, the bus is telling him a story
about who belongs here and who doesn’t. It may be him judging their financial stature or
even their skin colour but after continuous arguments, he finally checked his list and let the
Abrams inside the mansion.

That day, Stacey did not have a single memory of meeting the governor, did not have a
single recollection of what all happened in that private event that was one of the most
auspicious events in the state of Georgia. All she remembers is that a man was standing in
front of the most powerful place in Georgia telling her she did not belong there. A life-
changing moment that just became traumatic for her. Twenty years later, Stacey Abrams
was the one opening the gates of the most powerful place in Georgia. Stacey wanted to
instill a sense of belongingness in every single individual. That one moment that could have
been the most traumatic and demotivating experience for a seventeen-year-old became a
challenge and task for her to overcome. From that day onwards, she never gave up and the
fun fact is that she still has not achieved her ultimate goal which is to be the governor of
Georgia.

Writing about this story still gives me shivers. The simple motive to just fight back for
oneself motivated me to the core and made me realize that nothing in this world is
impossible. Yes, maybe I won’t be able to complete every single dream of mine but I will
never believe that my dream is unattainable. Getting back up after every fall is what matters
most and the effort you put in will always matter more.

“ The same boiling water that makes an egg turn hard will make a potato soft”.

So we need to dictate our environment and not let the environment dictate us.