What is it that drives us to continue? Why do we stay at a job that we hate, or in relationship that has gone sour? Maybe we live in denial, or we are too scared of the unknown. It can be hard to make drastic changes in your life. We prefer the devil we know to the one we don't. But perhaps our motivation is more pure than that. Maybe it is for love. I know this sounds ridiculous and like a contradiction, but bear with me. I can explain. For example: When I go to work every day I don't go because I love my job, or because I feel fulfilled by what I am doing. I go to work everyday because I love my family and I want them to be well taken care of. If I were to decide I don't want to do my job and quit, my kids would pay the price for my decision. So my motivation for putting up with my less-than-desirable job is not fear of the unknown, but rather love for my own. The same thing can go for relationships. There have been relationships in my past, both romantic and platonic that went on longer than they should have. This was definitely not because of fear. Though it may have been a little bit of denial, that denial was based partly on love. Perhaps a love from the past, but love, none-the-less. I wanted the relationship to work and become what it had once been because I still loved that person. I wasn't afraid of the future as much as I was hopeful that everything would work out. So you see, in both my examples, love was the driving force that kept me trying. Love is the most powerful motivator. It drives us to reach for the impossible. The statement has been made that fear is the best motivator. It is true that fear can be a powerful motivator, but it's certainly not a positive one. Fear can often blind us to the truth as well. I know what you're thinking, "love is blind". Yes, this can be a true statement, but when used, it usually has a positive intent. Such as the ability to overlook certain physical flaws a person may have because you are in love with them. Whereas blindness from fear is usually a negative. An example of this would be the Red Scare of the 60's when several innocent people were targeted for fear that they may be communist spies. Or attacks on certain ethnic groups for fear that they may be terrorists.
In truth, I can't say what may motivate you. It's most likely different for everyone. And it may change from day to day. But I hope that at least part of the time it is love. It's the motivation I try to stay with.
