The Paris Attacks, ISIS, Politics, and Motivation

Motivation.

That which drives us to start, sustain or stop a behavior.

It’s what pushes us to try harder, run faster or go the extra mile.

Lack of motivation is what leads us to procrastinate, disregard or put forth an effort without much enthusiasm.

Start an exercise program. Quit smoking. Apply for a new job. Work hard every day at the job you already have. Lounge on the couch and eat Cheetos. How motivated – or unmotivated – we are has significant impact in our lives.

Motivation and the level of effort or energy that we put into an effort can be based on personal needs, the subject or task at hand, our family, our peers, our personality, and finally, the award that we may get at the end of the effort or the goal we hope to accomplish.

Sometimes we are motivated because we know the end result will just be better for us. Other times, it’s that tangible prize that keeps us going.

As we often see with sports teams, skill and resources are often trumped by motivation. It isn’t always the best team that wins. The team that wants it the most is usually the team that wins. I see it every semester in my classes at Penn State. When given a chance to compete in a class activity or an in-class event, the student athletes are usually those who are figuratively pushing and shoving to get the win. It has been so consistent over the years that I have come to believe that it’s that intensity of motivation (versus skill or athletic ability) that makes the difference between a good high school player and the Division I athlete. 

Our team needs to get motivated.

The world watched in horror as the events of Friday night in Paris, and Beirut the day before, played out on 24 hour news. Terrorists again have taken the lives of innocent people in their hatred of Western culture and of those of us with different beliefs. Suicide bombers strapped explosive devices to their bodies and entered public settings in Paris and, after shooting innocent people, detonated grenades and bombs, killing themselves and many others in the process. A theatre. A stadium. A restaurant. At last count, over a hundred people had lost their lives and many more were hospitalized. We are again reminded of the uncertainty and fear of living in a society that is at war.

It will be the motivation of the terrorists and the seemingly lack of motivation of the rest of the world that will irreparably change our lives – unless we get motivated to stop them.

A person who is willing to sacrifice his or her own life, or the life of a child, in support of a holy war will not be stopped by rhetoric and false threats from a politician at a podium. The only way we are going to stop the terrorists will be for our country to come together to take them on. We must be united – and motivated – to stop what will undoubtedly come again to our shores and to our theaters and stadiums and coffee shops. After 9/11 and after the Boston Marathon bombings, we came together in outrage to demand action but quickly thereafter resume the in-fighting between political parties, races, genders and ideological viewpoints.

While we argue among ourselves about police brutality, health care, freedom of expression on our campuses, and which candidate may or may not have embellished his or her resume, a group of highly motivated terrorists who hate us are building strength and numbers. We saw them in Beirut and in France this weekend. We know they are here in the United States just waiting to show us just how motivated they are – again. 

People are who motivated to the point that they are willing to sacrifice their own lives because of their hate for our way of life are not going to be brought down with political speeches.

We also know that a bunch of rag tag extremists could not be building the numbers and the weapon power that they have without funding from somewhere. We need to find out who is funding them and stop those people as well.

My children and my yet to be born grandchildren serve to motivate me to get involved to protect their futures. It isn’t rhetoric to say that our way of life, just like our friends in France, is at risk if we don’t get motivated.

Our country needs to fight this war as a team that wants to win. It can’t just be about sending young men and women into harm’s way. It has to be about protecting our borders, making wise decisions about those with whom we do business and freeing up resources to support the efforts against those who hate us. 

The team that is most motivated is eventually going to win.