Motivation

Any shoe is better than a wet shoe

When Addy Tritt was 25 years old, she went to her local Payless shoe store in Hays, Kansas, a few years ago. She didn’t intend to walk out with the last of the store’s inventory.

The store was going out of business and had slashed its prices. When the last 204 pairs of footwear dropped to $1 each, Tritt figured she could buy some and donate them somewhere. 

“My pile just kept growing bigger and bigger,” said Tritt. She finally went up to the sales associate and asked, “Can you get me a deal on all of these shoes?”

After a few phone calls to the Payless corporate office, Tritt was in possession of all the remaining shoes, valued at approximately $6,000. She purchased them for about $100.

“I’m a college student. I don’t have a lot of extra money to be throwing around,” she said. “I don’t know why I did it―I just did. It’s part of being a human.”

Ikigai: the secret to longevity

What if you could live longer just by doing more of what you love to do most?

It's an attractive theory that finds its evidence in Ogimi, a community on the island of Okinawa that's nicknamed the Village of Longevity because its residents have the highest life expectancy in the world. They also largely share a devotion to a Japanese philosophy known as ikigai, a concept that is, at times, used synonymously with purpose, passion, meaning, mission, vocation and drive.

To help define your own ikigai, ask yourself: "Why do I get up in the morning?" "What motivates me?" "What do I love doing most?" Or, "What would I regret not having done with my life when it's over?"

Boredom is actually good for you

Forbes Coaches Council contends that boredom at work, far from being a terrible thing, offers a chance “to reflect, strategize and create”.

Here are some of the more constructive aspects of boredom, in their opinion:

1. Boredom Inspires Us To Expand Horizons 
Boredom provides a great opportunity for us to examine ourselves and seek new ways to expand our world and thinking, so go and learn something new. Get out of the rut that is creating the boredom. Do more. Be more. Live more.

2. Creativity Stems From Boredom 
Boredom leads to awareness. It signals to the brain that it needs different ideas, thoughts or things to do. Humdrum activities like taking a shower or driving have been times when great ideas and thoughts have occurred in the history of mankind.

The puzzle of motivation

In April 2017, economists at LSE looked at 51 studies of pay-for-performance plans, inside of companies. Here's what they said: "We find that financial incentives can result in a negative impact on overall performance."

There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. And what worries me, as we stand here in the rubble of the economic collapse, is that too many organizations are making their decisions, their policies about talent and people, based on assumptions that are outdated, unexamined,and rooted more in folklore than in science. And if we really want to get out of this economic mess, if we really want high performance on those definitional tasks of the 21st century, the solution is not to do more of the wrong things, to entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick. We need a whole new approach.