10 Motivators That Are Not Money

True motivators that power our economy are more than skin deep.

by Drobot Dean from Canva

As a child who lived through a turbulent childhood alternating between poverty and lower middle class, I am someone who perpetually lived in “survival mode” in my twenties and thirties. Somehow, financial security was a huge motivating factor in my life. It became the number one goal after a certain point in my career. This trap of using “money” as a motivator does not help you grow. Instead, it traps you in a cycle of “greed” and “poverty”. This cycle of “binge” and “depravity” is the cycle of addiction.

Most Americans who are middle class, but still live paycheck to paycheck, can relate to the anxious feeling of being in the cycle of “greed” and “poverty”.

This cycle begins with an influx of money: profits from stocks, extra bonuses, side-gig paying off, etc.. When that money is received, these Americans purchase much-needed goods. Then, they overspend on credit cards that make them feel like the money will be paid off with money streams coming in. But, when these money streams stop abruptly, they fall into poverty from the inability to pay the high-interest rates on these credit cards.

The Signs of Money Addiction

One of the most important signs of a money addiction is whether or not your life revolves around money.

Does earning money, keeping money, and using your money take most of the hours of your day?

Are you someone who does the following?

Do you go to work, but you don’t enjoy your job? You work for the sole purpose of getting paid.

On the weekends, do you enjoy shopping, eating out, taking fancy vacations? But, you don’t remember the joys, sadness, and happiness you received from people who you were shopping with, dining with, and taking vacations with. Instead, you remember the places you’ve been to and the things that you bought.

When you are living paycheck to paycheck, you are often angry because you feel that you are entitled to more. When you are living in a penthouse or have enough money, you feel a bit empty and impulsive. When you are in poverty living in your parent’s house, you fall into depression.

These are the signs that are you are living inside the money addiction cycle.

Inside the money addiction cycle, you are not making money work for you. But, instead, all your actions you take in your life center around money.

Understanding the Money Addiction Cycle

The money addiction cycle stems from living for “money”. This type of lifestyle reduces your person-hood, your human-ness, and your capacity to love.

Money is not just money. It is your currency to buy material goods.

A money addiction is an addiction to material goods. For most people, it’s an escape mechanism. Ask yourself, are you trying to avoid issues in your life by escaping to your high paying job, or luxury lifestyle. Today, our economy enables our money addiction cycle. With every in-your-face marketing campaign, we are urged to consume. With every investment opportunity, we are primed to seek risky money moves. With every cash-back credit card issued, we are rewarded for excessive spending.

In this type of economy, money addiction becomes the chorus line of our lives.

But it doesn’t have to.

Here’s the thing: the real economy is powered by so much more than the ability to produce. It is powered by innovations, inspirations, true motivators such as human kindness, creativity, and love.

Each person who is trapped in the money addiction cycle does not live a fulfilling life. Eventually, addiction leads to mental illnesses and self-destructive behaviors.

Then, with mental illnesses and self-destructive behaviors, your life erodes. Poverty strikes. Your poverty as a person fuels the actual poverty of material goods and vice versa.

Money is not a problem or a goal.

Money is simply an instrument for you to live a better life. With that instrument, you can choose what you want to do with this money.

You don’t have to be compelled to use money unless you want to.

So, when you need motivation in life, choose better.

Don’t choose money. Instead, choose any of these ten motivators.

Inspiration

Inspiration does not have to be found in grand works of art, music from a famous composer or designs that affect subculture. Inspiration can be from mundane everyday events, and objects. Have you looked a piece of autumn leaves that’s rolling on the ground? The way they tumble with the wind often reminds me of both the significance and the insignificance of life itself.

Innovation

We live in an age where innovation can be found everywhere. This is all thanks to the technologists working around the world. Well-designed innovation that integrates seamlessly into your life inspires new ways of living your life. A great example is how social media changed the landscape of not just marketing, but it changed how we relate to one another in all aspects of our lives.

Love

Without love, we are not whole. Each of us needs a certain amount of unconditional love in our lives. Often, we are the ones that give ourselves that love. That is okay. But, it’s often inspired by how others appreciate us in our lives. A simple gesture such as a hug someone gives us amid our day reminds us to be gentle with ourselves when we fail.

Creativity

Creativity is a tall order. But, we don’t have to be an artist to be creative. In everyday decision making, creativity is found everywhere. How to get to point A from point B? That’s a problem that takes creativity to solve. The shortest distance is often the distance that requires the most creativity. If you are making decisions every day, you are being creative.

Kindness

Kindness is in the small gestures of every day. Have you forgiven someone for their minor mistakes? Have you told someone “It’s okay” and hugged them today? Both of these are small kindnesses. You are being kind when you give another person some patience, some understanding, and some leeway to come together with you.

Nature

Nature is different for everyone. When you live in the city, nature often means staring at the outside of buildings. The truth is that even architecture is a kind of nature. Appreciating whatever your surrounding is and letting that surrounding inspire you. When you are in a park, focus time on the trees and leaves. When you are indoors at a cafe, focus on the bustling tables and the decor. When you are in an office, focus on looking out onto the office floor or out the windows.

Family

We all have a family. Even if you are single and living alone, you have family. If you have just one friend and no other relatives, you have family in that one friend. If you don’t have anyone, you have family in yourself and the stories of your ancestors. Finding peace in your family gives great joy.

Beauty

Beauty is not only artificial or skin deep. When you notice the beauty of another person, scenery or even an event, that can inspire you into action, too. Beauty can be found in chaos, in humor, and under the most urgent circumstances. The beauty of the human spirit is often both motivating and inspiring.

Minimalism

Clutter clouds your senses. Minimalism respects your senses. You need your senses to learn. In minimalism, you find healthier diets, more free time, a more open mind, and more positive mindsets. Whenever possible, think about the vastness of open space, ask open questions, and focus on one or two tasks. In this minimal lifestyle, you are learning what are the most important things in life.

Character

Character is simply you or people as they are. Character doesn’t have to imply an iron-clad moral compass. Most of us are on our way to sharpening our characters every day. You may notice people with strong characters. But, it’s also the ones with one or two characters that you like to have that intrigues you. Let that intrigue permeate. In time, you will be that person who possesses character traits that inspires others.