Student Essay on What Motivates People to Achieve?

What Motivates People to Achieve?

Essay

There is always an argument about whether people are propelled by satisfaction of achievement or by worldly stimulus such as money and prestige. In my opinion, though those who sided with worldly stimulus would say that money and fame refer to people's social hierarchy and thus worth striving for, which sounds good in theory, personal satisfaction is obviously people's propulsion to achievement, based on several evidences from athletics and history.

In the realm of sports, as I believed, only those who are truly impassioned about their careers can succeed and the great legend in NBA, Michael Jordan is a good example. He cares little about money, thus he chose to stop his career at the climax when he couldn't find any impetus after winning three straight championships; and he cares little about fame, either, and that is why he decided to come back to the court when he was 38, an age rather old for sports that may bring Jordan's whole career shame. In the opposite, he did all these for his love of challenge and enjoyment of success, in conclusion, personal satisfaction.

Another demonstration comes from the famous nurse, Florence Nightingale's life. As a girl from well-off family, she once owned all every girl dreams to have. However, she turned down her promising life and led one as a battlefield nurse accompanied with death and hardship. In this case, it is out of the question to state that she is snobbish. Some, however, argued that she wanted to be famous, as she was widely known mainly as "The lady with the Lamp." This theory seems persuasive, but I don't think people would choose such a career and risk dying every spare minute just for a title, since fame seems bleak toward life. Rather, as I viewed, she found joy when she helped those wounded to recover.

Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, wrote for his own satisfaction. Mostly a merchant, Defoe admired literature and started to write tentatively as his leisure. After the publication of his great novels, he surely gained popularity and earned reward. Nevertheless, writing was his hobby, and he probably got far more than worldly reward from the process of composing.

As shown by demonstrations above, I get a conclusion that people are motivated money or fame. Rather, the joy after going through a process full of obstacles and challenges and reaching the aim at last in irreplaceable.