Dance Advice | Dance FAQ’s | Motivation and Drive
Motivation and Drive
What motivates you to perform; or create? This is such a pertinent question because it’s essentially the foundation of what you do and will direct your artistic endeavours and in actual fact, your whole life. At the very least, this should ideally be conscious, rather than unconscious. Consequently, the question of whether your drives are an actual choice or compulsion is very important. Could your drive to succeed in any sphere of the arts or sports actually be a way of solving unresolved childhood or psychological issues? Could you be attempting to resolve them directly by performing or creating? Are you addicted to that process and could you let it go if you chose to? It’s important to really understand your motivations and the root cause of your drives because they may well not be positive for you. In other words, you might feel resolution by performing but in actual fact realise, later, that it didn’t solve your issues and that you were actually running away from fears or from root issues in your life. Many pop stars have talked about becoming a musician to get girls. This is absolutely the case and not just a flippant remark. It’s often as simple as this when we look at our true motivations. I would suggest that no matter what your true motivations are… let them be conscious and at the very least, understand them.
Once you’ve identified your drives … are you doing it right?
‘Never give up’ is a popular saying but it’s crazy if you think about it. If you are doing things correctly and the way they need to be done to work and conducive to success, then continue. However, if things are not working then you should at the very least, give up on what you are doing and change course or change your actions and behaviours. If you have tried this multiple times for an amount of time (that only you can determine) and still a ‘failure’, then logic alone will tell you that it’s not for you and that you should give up and try something else. Or a different way of putting it is to give up doing something the wrong way and start doing it the right way. Things can only work if you are doing them the right way. It’s important to be honest with yourself and also to accept your own limitations and that things are not in your control. Not everything will happen the way you want them to happen… and that is fine. That is what makes life magical! The most important thing is that you ask yourself the question and don’t listen to other people’s opinions on what you should be doing because they don’t know what your inner drives and motivations are. You owe it to yourself to know as this will help you succeed and live your life to its maximum and achieve your potentiality in a healthy way.
How do you know when I should change the course or give up?
Only you know the answer to this question. Writer Anthony Cerullo, in his article ‘Why Science Says It’s Okay to Give Up on Your Music Career Goals’ from the sonicbids blog, makes a great point:
“One quick and easy way to judge this is with stress. If you’re feeling so stressed about a particular goal that it has a negative effect on your life, then perhaps it’s time to drop it. Goals are supposed to be challenging, but you shouldn’t need sleeping pills to fall asleep or be in a state of depression just to achieve them.”
I agree with Anthony Cerullo completely.
Never give up… the real deal
There are some people, who do things the right way and have the drive and ability to succeed at their given task or artistic goal. As long as they are fulfilled and happy then they should never give up. It’s as simple as that because it is that individual who will certainly succeed. Whether you are that person or not is a determination that only you can make. Either way, if you are right or wrong, it probably won’t have any impact on the probability of success anyway, so it’s important that you be honest with yourself so that you can put your energy and life force into something that will actually fulfil you and works for you.