Motivation plays a central role in our lives, but what do we really know about it? Do we understand how it occurs? It is usually assumed that we are motivated by the opportunity to receive some kind of external reward or to benefit others. In fact, everything is much thinner and more complex. On Labor Day, we figure out what gives our activities meaning.
What motivates us to pursue goals that are difficult, dangerous, and potentially painful to achieve? We could enjoy life sitting on the beach and sipping mojitos, and if we could spend every day like this, we would always be happy. But while it’s sometimes nice to dedicate a few days to hedonism, I can’t imagine you’ll be satisfied with your life spending days, weeks, months, years, or even your whole life in this way. Endless hedonism will not bring us satisfaction.
Studies that have studied the problems of happiness and the meaning of life have shown that what gives our life meaning does not always bring us happiness. People who claim to have meaning in their lives are usually more interested in helping others than in seeking pleasure for themselves.
But those who take care of themselves first are often only superficially happy.
Of course, meaning is a rather vague concept, but its main features can be distinguished: the feeling that you live for something, your life has value and changes the world for the better. It all boils down to feeling like you are part of something bigger than yourself.
Friedrich Nietzsche argued that all the most valuable and important things in life we get from the struggle with difficulties and overcoming obstacles. We all know people who find deep meaning in life, even in the most adverse circumstances. A friend of mine volunteers at a hospice and has been supporting people through the end of their lives for many years. “This is the opposite of birth. I’m glad I had the opportunity to help them get through that door,” she says.
Other volunteers wash the sticky substance off birds after oil spills. Many people spend part of their lives in dangerous war zones, trying to save civilians from disease and death, or teaching orphans to read.
They really have a hard time, but at the same time they see a deep meaning in what they do.
By their example, they demonstrate how our deep need to believe that the meaning of our activities is not limited to the limits of our own lives can make us work hard and even sacrifice our comfort and well-being.
Such seemingly strange and irrational considerations motivate us to perform complex and unpleasant tasks. It’s not just about helping those in need. This motivation is present in every aspect of our lives: in relationships with others, work, our hobbies and interests.
The fact is that motivation generally operates over long periods of time, sometimes even longer than our life. Deep down, it is very important to us that our life and actions have meaning. This becomes especially important when we become aware of our own mortality, and even if in search of meaning we even have to go through all the circles of hell, we will go through them and in the process we will feel real satisfaction with life.
About the author: Dan Ariely is a professor of psychology at Duke University and the bestselling author of Predictable Irrationality, Behavioral Economics, and The Whole Truth About Lies.