Why Do I Do The Things I Do, Sometimes I Feel Like I Am So Insecure, If I Could Learn A Thing Or Two From You, Then Popular Opinion I Could Ignore
--"Why Do I Do", Jump5
or "How Eating Burgers Caused Me To Join The A.C.L.U."...
People always talk about the angles, about the rewards of doing something. A lot of people focus their energies on a results-based philosophy, which is understandable. It's hard to argue with the merits of training your sights on the goal and never wavering from that goal. In most instances it's an admirable trait in individuals. I could stand to improve my prowess in this area of thinking myself. Far too often I let the goal slip out of perception in favor of the process, in favor of the representation of the journey. I believe if I honed in a little more on the prize at the end of the finishing I would be more keen on reeling things with a sense of urgency.
However, just as important I posit is the motivation behind why we start the journey in the first place. More often than not why a person sets out on a task isn't the why a person sees that task to its completion. Most times why we start the car has nothing to do where we end up at the end of the ride--at least that's the way it is for me. I take after my more famous friend in that respect. I jump into things for the flimsiest of reasons, often giving up halfway through because after the initial rush of adrenalin I have nothing substantial to hold my interest. I might give you the lip service of wanting to achieve something amazing or personally satisfying, but usually the carrot that dangles before me which induces me to take that first step turns out to be a false carrot.
I really am too impulsive for my own good.
----
As most of you know, I've been to Boston about a half-dozen times in my life. Yet I'm always finding new crannies to explore, places I haven't been yet, and little sections of the surrounding climes. On one such expeditions I came across possibly the best burger joint I've ever been in. Yes, I'm a big fan of places like Fuddrucker's or The Counter, where one can almost assuredly get the burger one deserves. But it isn't that often one comes across a small out-of-the-way treasure, one so-called mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall that possibly has the best burgers that side of the Mississippi. That's what Mr. Bartley's is--a good place to get a great burger.
Well, coming out of the experience of eating at my rare find, I was in a great mood. In fact, I was in such an exuberant mood that my first thought was to get back on the T to head to the Central Library so I could blog on this very site about my discovery. I don't know if it was my being distracted or the fact that I normally don't stop at such obvious ploys for support, but as I was hurriedly heading into the Harvard Square station I was accosted by a rather nicely dressed young woman. She immediately asked if I had a few moments to spare. Good mood not withstanding, I still don't like being approached by random strangers to sign anything, to give anything, or to hear anything. It's usually not in my best interests to open myself up to possible annoyance and it's usually a policy of affairs I attempt to abide by as often as possible. That being said, she was rather nicely dressed. More to the point, she had a convincing smile... and I was in such a good mood anyway.
I decided to hear her out.
Her speech was rehearsed but natural. She stated the facts of her case (she was a volunteer for the ACLU and provided a few examples of how it had enhanced her understanding and deep-abiding love for America). She provided a number of on-going struggles that I could lend my support to as well as a number of meaningful victories the organization had spearheaded. Capitalizing on my mentioning I was from California, she told me how the recent decision to allow same-sex marriages in California was a direct result of the efforts of the ACLU. Yet the subtle way she informed me of this, by intermingling probing questions about my experience while visiting Boston ("so you come here every year? I actually go to Boston College so I could see why you'd want to come back every year.") with statements about her agenda gave the lasting impression that she wasn't just trying to collect signature and donations; she was there to recruit lifelong supporters, gave me confidence that this was a young woman who knew of what she spoke. I don't know about most gladhanding recruitment techniques, but I'm fairly certain they are not supposed to last twenty to twenty-five minutes long, as that's allows a very small pool of potential supporters to talk to.
In the end I decided to donate not so much because I was such an adamant supporter of the cause, but because I believed in her conviction to the cause. Or, more simply, I agreed to become a card-carrying member of the ACLU because I took a liking to her and the way she was so passionate about the subject. I mean--I agree with the principles of the group and it really wouldn't have taken much to get me to join after that burger, but the real motivation behind my signing on the dotted line was I wanted to do something for her for filling up half-of-an-hour of my time in such a beguiling and entertaining fashion.
That's it. I wanted to make her happy.
I could try to give you the rabble about how I'm deeply committed to the cause and that when I donate my fifty dollars a month (upped from the ten I originally signed for with her), it's because I like the fact my money is going towards initiatives I fully support. I could tell you that when I get my monthly newsletter or check their site on-line, aclu.org I re-affirm my original reasons for joining. That would be only half the story, though. That would only be the reason why I continue to support them.
The true story about why I joined in the first place was because I was happily full and a pretty girl asked me to.
----
Sometimes motivations involve all these grand ideas and utilize deeply-held convictions regarding philosophy, religion, or personal lifestyle choices. I absolutely would be loathe to fraternize with people who didn't base their decisions the majority of the time on such substantial criteria. But every once in a while, as befits my somewhat mercurial nature, I chuck all sense of rational thinking out the door and do something because it feels right or because doing it makes me feel happy.
The world has enough complex decisions for you to make. There are some decisions that aren't that life-altering or that monumental with which you could simply just go with your gut.
If I couldn't stand the ACLU I could rather easily halt my monthly donations. The hard part of doing anything for me is getting me to stop something I dislike.
The hard part for me is actually getting enough impetus to commit to something.
Without the burger and without that cute girl I'm pretty sure I would have never joined. That would have been mine and their loss.
Yes, my rationale for signing up weren't all that logical. I fully admit it was an entirely emotional decision, but I have full confidence it was the right decision. I continue to support that decision. It's like the say, you can do something right for the wrong reasons... as long as you do it.
Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers
or "How Eating Burgers Caused Me To Join The A.C.L.U."...People always talk about the angles, about the rewards of doing something. A lot of people focus their energies on a results-based philosophy, which is understandable. It's hard to argue with the merits of training your sights on the goal and never wavering from that goal. In most instances it's an admirable trait in individuals. I could stand to improve my prowess in this area of thinking myself. Far too often I let the goal slip out of perception in favor of the process, in favor of the representation of the journey. I believe if I honed in a little more on the prize at the end of the finishing I would be more keen on reeling things with a sense of urgency.
However, just as important I posit is the motivation behind why we start the journey in the first place. More often than not why a person sets out on a task isn't the why a person sees that task to its completion. Most times why we start the car has nothing to do where we end up at the end of the ride--at least that's the way it is for me. I take after my more famous friend in that respect. I jump into things for the flimsiest of reasons, often giving up halfway through because after the initial rush of adrenalin I have nothing substantial to hold my interest. I might give you the lip service of wanting to achieve something amazing or personally satisfying, but usually the carrot that dangles before me which induces me to take that first step turns out to be a false carrot.
I really am too impulsive for my own good.
----
As most of you know, I've been to Boston about a half-dozen times in my life. Yet I'm always finding new crannies to explore, places I haven't been yet, and little sections of the surrounding climes. On one such expeditions I came across possibly the best burger joint I've ever been in. Yes, I'm a big fan of places like Fuddrucker's or The Counter, where one can almost assuredly get the burger one deserves. But it isn't that often one comes across a small out-of-the-way treasure, one so-called mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall that possibly has the best burgers that side of the Mississippi. That's what Mr. Bartley's is--a good place to get a great burger.
Well, coming out of the experience of eating at my rare find, I was in a great mood. In fact, I was in such an exuberant mood that my first thought was to get back on the T to head to the Central Library so I could blog on this very site about my discovery. I don't know if it was my being distracted or the fact that I normally don't stop at such obvious ploys for support, but as I was hurriedly heading into the Harvard Square station I was accosted by a rather nicely dressed young woman. She immediately asked if I had a few moments to spare. Good mood not withstanding, I still don't like being approached by random strangers to sign anything, to give anything, or to hear anything. It's usually not in my best interests to open myself up to possible annoyance and it's usually a policy of affairs I attempt to abide by as often as possible. That being said, she was rather nicely dressed. More to the point, she had a convincing smile... and I was in such a good mood anyway.
I decided to hear her out.
Her speech was rehearsed but natural. She stated the facts of her case (she was a volunteer for the ACLU and provided a few examples of how it had enhanced her understanding and deep-abiding love for America). She provided a number of on-going struggles that I could lend my support to as well as a number of meaningful victories the organization had spearheaded. Capitalizing on my mentioning I was from California, she told me how the recent decision to allow same-sex marriages in California was a direct result of the efforts of the ACLU. Yet the subtle way she informed me of this, by intermingling probing questions about my experience while visiting Boston ("so you come here every year? I actually go to Boston College so I could see why you'd want to come back every year.") with statements about her agenda gave the lasting impression that she wasn't just trying to collect signature and donations; she was there to recruit lifelong supporters, gave me confidence that this was a young woman who knew of what she spoke. I don't know about most gladhanding recruitment techniques, but I'm fairly certain they are not supposed to last twenty to twenty-five minutes long, as that's allows a very small pool of potential supporters to talk to.
In the end I decided to donate not so much because I was such an adamant supporter of the cause, but because I believed in her conviction to the cause. Or, more simply, I agreed to become a card-carrying member of the ACLU because I took a liking to her and the way she was so passionate about the subject. I mean--I agree with the principles of the group and it really wouldn't have taken much to get me to join after that burger, but the real motivation behind my signing on the dotted line was I wanted to do something for her for filling up half-of-an-hour of my time in such a beguiling and entertaining fashion.
That's it. I wanted to make her happy.
I could try to give you the rabble about how I'm deeply committed to the cause and that when I donate my fifty dollars a month (upped from the ten I originally signed for with her), it's because I like the fact my money is going towards initiatives I fully support. I could tell you that when I get my monthly newsletter or check their site on-line, aclu.org I re-affirm my original reasons for joining. That would be only half the story, though. That would only be the reason why I continue to support them.
The true story about why I joined in the first place was because I was happily full and a pretty girl asked me to.
----
Sometimes motivations involve all these grand ideas and utilize deeply-held convictions regarding philosophy, religion, or personal lifestyle choices. I absolutely would be loathe to fraternize with people who didn't base their decisions the majority of the time on such substantial criteria. But every once in a while, as befits my somewhat mercurial nature, I chuck all sense of rational thinking out the door and do something because it feels right or because doing it makes me feel happy.
The world has enough complex decisions for you to make. There are some decisions that aren't that life-altering or that monumental with which you could simply just go with your gut.
If I couldn't stand the ACLU I could rather easily halt my monthly donations. The hard part of doing anything for me is getting me to stop something I dislike.
The hard part for me is actually getting enough impetus to commit to something.
Without the burger and without that cute girl I'm pretty sure I would have never joined. That would have been mine and their loss.
Yes, my rationale for signing up weren't all that logical. I fully admit it was an entirely emotional decision, but I have full confidence it was the right decision. I continue to support that decision. It's like the say, you can do something right for the wrong reasons... as long as you do it.
Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers
Labels: ACLU, Boston, Jump5, Motivations, payoff
posted by mojo shivers @ 12:49 AM
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