“When the cold front of demographics meets the warm front of unrealized dreams, the result will be a thunderstorm of purpose the likes of which the world has never seen.” (133)
- From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
In Colorado we witness many types of storms this time of year. During the four days of my sister’s recent visit we offended her Californian sensibilities with vigorous thunder and lightning, sheets of rain, hail, and even a final hot day offering flurries of cottonwood tree cotton. Today the mercury will hit ninety-two degrees and the draining heat makes it difficult to meet the challenges of mothering – and almost impossible to face the larger troubles spelled out in newspaper headlines or internet news briefs. Natural disasters, ongoing wars, recovery efforts and partisan bickering leave me gasping for fresh air, looking for some mental and spiritual refreshment. In recent days I have found my “lemonade of the soul” in Daniel Pink’s book, Drive.
Pink’s work addresses the science of what truly motivates human beings. Studies dating back decades reveal that monetary rewards are not the best motivators. Beyond a certain income baseline, people are most fueled by autonomy, mastery and purpose. For a quick video overview, you can visit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded).
In the most recent chapter I’ve read, Pink focuses on the number of baby boomers reaching sixty. He offers, “at the beginning of the twenty-first century, anyone who’s healthy enough to have made it six decades is probably healthy enough to hang on a fair bit longer” (132) as in twenty or more years. (Are you reading this, Dad?) How does this relate to my heat and headline trauma? Read on . . .
Pink notes that anyone who has the accumulated wisdom of sixty or so years learns past to look past the profit motive and search for work with a purpose: work that will change the world. I can provide my father as an example; his work for his city and county takes him to meetings every day on a volunteer basis and he has enabled the local area to build a brand new food pantry to feed those living in hunger. He finds and writes grants, raises money, and educates himself and others to the need around him. Thanks to folks like my dad, I can sit here writing with a cup of tea and feel like the world won’t totally go to pot in my mental absence.
Here’s a thought: “the planet very soon will contain more people over age sixty-five than under age five for the first time in its existence, (and) the timing couldn’t be better.” (144) I promise not to abdicate my own volunteer responsibilities at the thought of vast armies of purposeful, talented and experienced individuals taking on the plight of the world, but I am grateful for the thought of these reinforcing armies. I am relieved to think that the science proves humans are intrinsically motivated by purpose. I am hopeful that – as summer heat and window-clogging cotton will eventually relent – the troubles of the early 21st century may be washed away in a thunderstorm of purpose.
Additional thought: In a follow-up to my post on the Tom Petty concert (Rocking Out - A Rare Late Night), I wanted to post this quote by Willie Nelson as written in Sunday (6/29) Parade Magazine: "Death is not the end of anything. I believe all of us are only energy that becomes matter. When the matter goes away, the energy still exists. You can't destroy it. It never dies. It manifests itself somewhere else."
A couple of thoughts about your blog which is much too glowing about me.
ReplyDelete1) It is quality of life that counts; not quantity. Your friend, Mr Pink, does not speak to the vicissitudes of aging. Supposedly, Mae West said, "getting old ain't for sissies". Whoever said it, it's true.
2) Societal changes have altered the character of civic volunteers. Where once "at home" housewives would volunteer for everything from Pink Ladies to Prohibition campaigns, they now work, maintain the house and raise the children. Where fathers once could count on being at work at 9:00 a.m. and returning home at the stroke of 5:00 p.m., the "flat world" documented by Tom Friedman forces most breadwinners to work 10-12 hour days and then take work home. The result; no volunteers for civic activities. The PTA meeting is about all that parents have time and energy for. (Sorry to end a sentence with a preposition.) Every organization, like Rotary, is hungry for younger members, female members, or just members. The current membership is getting more tired and less willing to give time, energy and resources.
I have tried to do a little but some day I will be done. We need new help. Where will it come from?
Dad
From Karen . . .
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read that our planet will soon have such a large number of people 60 and older. I am struck by the idea of a militia of baby boomers leading a volunteer army to battle any number of important issues, putting their knowledge, wisdom, and many talents on the front line where they belong.
I also appreciate that getting older is a battle of its own, and I understand what Dad is saying when he wrote that the current members of volunteer organizations are getting tired. However, he still has far too much to give to throw up his hands in despair yet! It may be a small trickle, but the new volunteers are coming in and they will need guidance to continue carrying the torch.
Dad, well spoken. Pink notes that every 13 minutes 100 boomers turn sixty, and that trend will continue until the year 2024. That's a LOT of reinforcements for you. He also notes that generation Y (I think they are younger than me) show high rates of volunteerism - perhaps they "get it" earlier than most. In any case, there is reason to hope!
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