Sometimes I'm serious.

WHY BE GREAT?

What is my motivation for wanting to achieve greatness?

Fame, fortune, money, glory, honor, standing up for what I believe in, spending my time well, living for my hopes and dreams, living as freely as possible, doing the right thing, being a part of an exciting existence, being the best person I can be, learning, discovering what my potential is, seeing miracles nearly constantly, achieving the comforts I have grown accustomed to, serving a meaningful purpose, doing everything in my power to get the most out of life, to help other people, to connect with others in significant ways, to love, to be loved, to survive as long as possible, to live well day by day, to find the truth about God and the universe, to write a great book, to make Mom happy, to make the girlfriend happy, to help others realize their potential greatness, to be compassionate, loving , tender, and accepting, to fight against evil, live peacefully with all forms of life, to remain loyal to those I’ve known in the past, to continue to seek new ways of living for myself and others, to remain firm in discipline, to be flexible and go along with the flow of life, to pursue my interests, or to consistently serve others?

Fame might have some enjoyable aspects to it, but it also might be more annoying than the benefits it provides. I’ve dreamed of fame at times, but have never made it a high priority for my life.  Fame is nowhere near the top of my list for my motivation to achieve success.

Fortune would be great to have, but it’s not my biggest motivation. There’s no way to have the amount of resources that could guarantee happiness for an entire lifetime. Even if I was somehow given every single item I ever wanted, I’d keep seeking the next great item that could solve my problems and the problems of others. I’d be pleased to have a fortune and to exercise the freedoms that often come with fortune. 

Money allows power to influence the actions of others.  I like it. 

Glory is something I’d like to experience, but not what ultimately motivates me to achieve greatness. Glory must be earned.  I don’t know how glorious others consider my life to be.

Glory would be nice to receive, but it’d mean little if I got it for a superficial achievement. I want to have glory if I earn it, but I haven’t yet made this a high priority goal.

I value honor. I prefer to be respected and treated well by others. It’s rare that I seek honor form others in terms of rewards. I don’t seek honor from those I don’t know well. I like it when I’m honored by close friends and family, but generally do not care about special prizes. I’m not motivated much by the prospect of receiving honor from others.

Standing up for what I believe in has been a big motivator for me to achieve greatness in the past. I believed that as a follower of Jesus, it was my duty to do all I could to try to be the absolute best Christian I could. I felt that meant learning all I possibly could and applying it to my own life in every possible moment. Regardless of what the behaviors of others were I was supposed to live for Jesus at all times.

As a skeptic I had fewer beliefs I had to stand up for. I try to follow my personal convictions in life, although many of the things I once thought were wrong I now view as acceptable. 

I try to understand truth, but I do so with the knowledge that I’ll almost assuredly never come close to reaching my goal. I mostly attempt to stay out of conflict when it arises.  I abide by my own ethical judgments. Standing up for my beliefs is important to me.

Spending my time in the best ways I can is a huge motivation. I’ve often tried to make the most out of what I’ve had.  I believe that achieving greatness is accomplished by spending time well.

Living for my hopes and dreams is motivation to achieve greatness. My dreams may have changed in light of new evidence I now believe to be true. I may achieve many of my dreams as long as they correspond to the ways the universe works.  I believe I can get the best out of life if I stay focused on my hopes and dreams. I need to determine what they are.  I should focus on what’s positive in life now.

Living as freely as possible is strong motivation for me to try to be great. I’d like to do exactly what I feel is best at all times.  Even those with the best intentions, work ethic, and ability still fail to achieve greatness in every single moment they exist.

To do what one wants more than anything else is a beautiful dream.  My dreams are subject to change based on changes in the world and in me.

Doing the right thing is a motivation of mine.  I’ve never lived up to my standards of moral perfection.  I’ve failed to discover the right thing to do at all times. How can I tell others how to best live if I'm still faulty?

I can give recommendations to my fellow travelers, but I can’t offer them definite answers. In certain cases I can give others logical, useful, and helpful answers. In other cases, I can’t give any sensible advice.

Being a part of an exciting existence is a motivator for me in several ways. It’s hard for me to fathom that anyone intentionally sets out to live a dull and meaningless life.  Who’d avoid filling their lives with passion instead of boring banality?  My vision for life hasn’t always corresponded with reality.

Through persistence I found excitement despite failing to achieve some goals. I want to live an exciting life. I believe that nearly all people want to live an exciting life on their terms.

Discovering my potential is definitely a big motivation for me. I haven’t lived up to my potential. I need to find what I have faith in and what it’s logical to believe in.

Achieving comforts I’ve grown accustomed to motivates me to work, but not hard enough to achieve greatness.  I can improve myself with or without more money.  I love the comforts I have, but most of the conveniences I have are wants and not needs.

I’d miss having wonderful music, books, and movies if I had none.  There’s no end to the amount of items I could collect.  How I spend my time is more important than what I acquire.

Serving a meaningful purpose gives me motivation to achieve greatness.  Finding meaning may not ensure material success.  Finding meaningful purposes is a life long quest that should be examined by individuals frequently.   I believe every person wants to get the most out of life that they can. Some people get angry about their failures. Those who lose hope settle for less than their desires. Most, if not all people, fail to get what they want at all times. 

Helping people motivates me to achieve greatness.  Even if an individual can find a way to help millions of people in a profound way, billions of others are still no better off.  People who need the most help tend to be depressed, desperate, and angry regardless of how much help is offered. I’d like to help those in need who suffer needlessly, but I realize that I have limited abilities and time.

Loving others gives me motivation to achieve greatness. I have less than loving feelings for individuals at times.  I try to love others until they give me reasons not to for the most part.

Being loved can give me motivation to achieve greatness, but it can also be a turn off. I hope people I know love me, but the adulation of strangers can lead to a constant barrage of attention.  Never having a private moment would grow tiresome quickly for me. Perks of being loved could be lessened by newsmen going through my garbage, stalkers, or obsessed fans who resort to physical violence to express their “love.”

Connecting with others in meaningful ways is important to me, but one does not need greatness to do so. I feel blessed to have connected with many great people. 

Survival is a huge motivation, but has little to do with greatness. There are times when I worry too much about surviving instead of taking noble chances. Survival is necessary to have greatness.

Greatness is difficult to achieve in the course of one day.  Greatness is usually accomplished via a lengthy, gradual process.

Finding the truth about God and the universe has been huge motivation for me in the past, but I no longer feel that I can achieve greatness by understanding the truth. Although I spent a considerable amount of time trying to answer the biggest questions about existence, I finally realized that the universe is far too large for me to grasp the total amount of truth that exists.  I no longer believe I can achieve greatness by comprehending God or the universe.

Writing motivates me to achieve greatness. I may fail to spark the interests of anyone else.  I may write a piece that will help others.  I am motivated to use my skills to impact others I’ve never personally met.

Making Mom happy motivates me to achieve. Even though Ma and I disagree on some fundamental tenants of morality, she’s been supportive of me throughout my entire life.  I’m pleased that I’m able to make Ma happy most of the time.

My girlfriend is mostly happy. I think she wants to live a good and simple life for the most part. I hope I can give her that.

Making everyone I encounter a bit better would motivate me to achieve greatness. I think individuals are responsible for their own happiness in most situations.

At times there seems to be little to no point in trying to achieve greatness. Even if I reach all the greatness I dream of, success is only temporary.  I’ll still be vulnerable to pain.  I’ll still exist for just a brief amount of time.

Helping others to realize their potential greatness motivates me.  Life may be a constant process of moving towards better achievements. Encouragement can be given by training others with all of the skills you possess.  Many people can be encouraged by simple words.  It’s usually beneficial if we’re willing to be kind to fellow travelers on our journey of life.

Being rational helps me to live well, but it’s not my motivation to be great.

Fighting against evil motivates me to achieve greatness when I can tell what’s evil. Unfortunately, the world is filled with misinformation and biased sources corrupting facts.  Certain issues seem clear- I know few people who claim child rape is permissible behavior. Other issues such as abortion have never been anywhere close to fully agreed upon by voters, lawmakers, or even evangelists. Fighting evil requires knowing who and what to fight against.

Continuing to seek new ways of living motivates me to achieve greatness.  I’m still working out how to best live.  I think there are a number of ways to live well.

Pursuing my interests motivates me to achieve greatness. One can be great if they do what they consider most important. I could potentially achieve greatness in many areas.

Serving others motivates me to become great at times. At other times, I feel it’s wiser to allow people to come to their own realizations without interference on my part. Providing help to those who need it or request it is fulfilling and contributes to a better world. Serving those who are ungrateful, enjoy causing harm to others, or malicious isn’t always wise.

What does it take to achieve greatness? Is it a personal judgment call? What’s great to one person may not be considered of value to others.  Virtually every person wants to believe that they’re living well. There are too many people who lose hope due to fears. It’s wise to live for the moment while preparing for the future.