Motivation
Just what is motivation? Is it the carrots you
dangle? The things you can offer? Or is it the
environment you create? Let's see if this story
from Jack Canfield will help you decide.
Over 200 years ago in a temple in Thailand, there
was a beautiful Buddha made of two tons of solid
gold. The monks in this village knew they were in
the path of the Burmese soldiers who were warring
at the time. The monks wanted to save their
village, their temple, and of course, their
beautiful Buddha. The Burmese soldiers were known
to rape, kill, and destroy everything in their
path.
The monks knew they couldn't hide their village,
their temple, or even their Buddha, because every
temple has one, and it's not exactly easy to hide
two tons of solid gold under the couch. So, after
a great deal of consternation and discussion,
they decided if they can't hide the Buddha, at
least they could hide its value. They worked
around the clock and covered the Buddha in clay.
When they were finally done, the Buddha
still resembled a Buddha, but no longer a gold
Buddha.
Very shortly thereafter, the village was hit.
Everyone in the village was killed, leaving n
survivors to tell the history of the gold Buddha.
The village lay in ruins, the temple was
demolished, but the Buddha sat in the middle of
all this devastation completely untouched.
In 1957, a new order of monks was sent to rebuild
the village and the temple. No one had any idea
of the value of the Buddha. They were almost
done, and as they moved the Buddha to its place
of honor, it fell from the cart and crashed on
the floor. Everyone was sick! No one wanted to
face the consequence of what they had done, so
they threw a tarp over it and went about their
day.
Later that night, in the privacy of his own pain,
the head monk approached the Buddha with a
flashlight. As he shined the light, he removed
the tarp, and the Buddha seemed to be shining
from within. He didn't understand what was
happening, so he grabbed the nearest tools that
he could find: a butter knife and a rock. As he
chipped away at one of the cracks, he was
astonished to discover that not only had they not
destroyed their beautiful Buddha, but he had
uncovered two tons of gold without a scratch on
it!
This is a true story as it is written on the walls
of this beautiful temple today in Thailand. So
just how does this great story tell us anything
about motivation? Every one of us has a core of
solid gold. Whether they are your best friend or
your worst enemy, your boss or your spouse,
everyone has a core of gold. Our job is to
provide an environment where that person feels
comfortable opening up and being the best that
they can be.
The best motivational climate is one where everyone
feels that they can grow (life-long learning
opportunities), the opportunity to take risks
without fear (growth through experience), and a
mutual feeling of trust, respect, and commitment
that is expressed through individual attention
and acknowledgement, resulting in high
self-esteem.
Are you motivating or dangling carrots?
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