Motivation by way of Tyler Durden
Motivation. Are we always motivated? Do we experience motivation by sheer will or do we require a reason to do something to create that motivation for us? How about this, what is motivation? By definition it stands for,
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So how many of you experience this by sheer will? I can honestly say that I don't always experience this. Sometimes it takes something big or urgent for me to experience the motivation needed to accomplish my immediate goals. I'm sure everyone has dealt with this at one time or another and we deal with it as it occurs. So what if you were motivated by force? I'm thinking that this would be the best type of motivation to get your ass in gear to accomplish your goals. If I had to make a choice on what scenario I would like to experience in reference to forced motivation, I would choose it by way of Tyler Durden? Do you know Mr. Durden? Have you ever watched the movie, "Fight Club"? If you have not seen it then you need to buy or rent this movie. I highly recommend it. I would like to tell you about the movie but I might reveal too much. Instead, I will give you the synopsis I found on IMDb,
"An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression."
The synopsis is short and to the point but once you get into the movie, you'll realize that there is something more going on between the main characters. In Fight Club the male characters are given an adult playground where they take part in bare knuckle brawling. It's a way of venting aggression and eventually the club moves out of the basement and onto the streets where the characters are involved in different assignments. For example, one assignment deals with starting a fight with someone and losing. Tyler Durden, the leader of the group, breaks them down in a way where they can be free and do away with what may be holding them back. Another assignment within the movie makes me think a lot. The assignment is called, "Human Sacrifice". This scene shows the forced motivation I have been talking about.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcaB6HeICpw]
The video above shows Tyler Durden threatening a store clerk with a gun. He talks to him about what he wanted to be and his current state. He tells him that he is going to keep his license and if he is not on his way to becoming a veterinarian within six weeks, he will be dead. To me this is perfect example of what I see as forced motivation. There is a little more to the scene though. Tyler actually gives a line or two of information that brings this assignment all together. It's what makes me think the most. The following is the dialog at the end of the scene.
Tyler Durden: Run Forrest, run!
Narrator: I feel ill.
Tyler Durden: Imagine how he feels.
Narrator: Common, this isn't funny! That wasn't funny. What the fuck was the point of that?!
Tyler Durden: Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.
Voice-over: You had to give it to him. He had a plan. And it started to make sense in a Tyler sort of way. No fear, no distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.[Tyler throws gun to Narrator who opens the barrel to find no bullets inside.]
Think about what happened in the video for a moment. Picture yourself in Raymond's situation, on your knees facing the opposite direction of your assailant and scared for your life. Your previous goals are brought to light and you face the fact that you stopped what was once your dream. You have a few moments to think about your life and how you wish you had done more or simply had a second chance. You feel the gun pressing against your head and as you tremble your assailant gives you a second chance to accomplish your goals. In the beginning you may have had obstacles holding you back from your specific goal or maybe you were just unmotivated, but now nothing will hold you back. You have been given six weeks to jump start your life or you will be killed. Forced motivation is crazy is it not? Think about how the next day would be. The second to last part of dialog by Tyler is very true. Every time I see this movie I think about how I would feel the next day. I would wake up with renewed motivation. My breakfast would taste better and it would indeed be the most beautiful day because I would be alive.
This is the type of motivation and determination I would like to have all the time. How can this be done? How can one feel this sense of forced motivation? I'm thinking the "human sacrifice" would actually have to happen in order to experience this. For me though, I would want to keep my goals in mind as much as possible to try and replicate the motivational aspect of the scenario. I know what you're thinking. This whole thing sounds odd but really think about the entire situation. Wouldn't you be motivated and determined to do your best? I know I would be if someone told me that I would be dead in six weeks if I wasn't on my way to becoming what I wanted to be. So what would you do? What if you were in the same position as Raymond K. Hessel? Do you think this situation would be helpful or is it pointless? Let me know what you think. As I have stated before, this type of motivation is something that would get me off my ass in order to plow through all obstacles to accomplish my goals. In all reality it's really up to me but if I had the choice it would be by way of Tyler Durden.