Our efforts may be motivated by three different factors: fear, greed, or love. For example, a student may study for the fear of failure, the desire for achievement, or the love of knowledge. We may make efforts in a relationship for the fear of losing the security provided by that relationship, or for the sake of enjoying some pleasure from it, or for the sake of love. We may make efforts at the office due to the fear of losing our jobs, to get a promotion, or for the love of the work at hand.
When the underlying motivation is fear, there is a secretion of adrenaline in the body. When we are afraid, our body has to be ready to fight or flee. The secretion of adrenaline, at the command of our unconscious mind, makes our bodies ready for the response. The problem is that in most situations, our conscious mind perceives the situation differently, calculates, and gives a command not to react. We feel stressed due to opposite commands from the conscious and the unconscious minds. We neither fight nor flee, and therefore, that excessive dose of adrenaline remains unconsumed, and it leads to the formation of cortisol, which produces blockages and increases the chances of heart attacks. Thus, fear-driven motivation for effort gives us heart disease.
When the underlying motivator is greed, we set targets and make efforts to achieve the same. Achievements give us a kick. We feel good. This feels good is nothing but a small dose of dopamine that makes us feel good. We get used to it and want more and more of it. That's why we will often see the achievers to be quite frustrated and restless. They will constantly crave and work hard for the achievement of their targets, and whenever the circumstances do not support them, they become utterly frustrated. That's because of a very fundamental body mechanism. Dopamine is addictive, and every time we get dopamine, our body will demand a higher dose the next time. Thus, greed-driven motivation for work makes us restless in the long term.
When the underlying motivator for effort is love, a hormone called serotonin gets produced in our bodies. It has a soothing effect on our body. We feel relaxed. That's why when the underlying motivator behind our actions is love, we are neither stressed nor restless. We are neither afraid of losing our past achievements, nor are we worried about future failure. In that state, we are fully in the present moment. That's why we are at our best in such moments. The best in their fields, be it sports or science, arts or literature, love their work and that's why they can do it tirelessly and without getting exhausted for years and even decades, and that's why they can create the master pieces that require years of focus and hard work. The hard work actually becomes fun due to their love for the work at hand.
It's not rocket science to understand this. However, it is quite difficult to change the underlying motivation behind our actions. Most motivations come from our unconscious mind. Years of conditioning form our unconscious minds, and it is like King Dhritrastra when it comes to the decision-making process. Even if the conscious mind, like Vidura, warns the king Dhritrastra, the final decision will be taken by the king Dhritrastra, either driven by his fears or greed. Pandavas will have to fight the battle to get the kingdom back, and their most prominent fighter, Arjuna, is confused. Arjuna could fight the battle only when he listened to Krishna carefully and with complete devotion. We too can't concentrate on our inner purification unless we have complete devotion to truth. Till that time, one or the other greed or fear in the unconscious mind will take over our inner kingdom. That's why its not an easy process. We have to be ready to fight our inner Kurukshetra battle for setting our motivations right. That's why most of us accept the routine and just give up to their conditioning and die a slow meaningless death due to inaction.
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