What motivates you?

     Being someone who loves to blather on, hoping I have a point of view about various things, sometimes it's the simplest question that can stump and silence me: "What motivates you?"

     My first thought: Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. I don’t know.

     My second thought: This is hard. I’m pathetic.
     Third thought: I’m unmotivated.
     Fourth thought: Think! Shouldn’t I know what motivates me? Shouldn’t we all?
     Then I realized it was much easier to determine what did not motivate me such as material things, competition, power, getting credit or (unlike most of the human race I think), coffee. Eventually though, after some quick-fire pondering, I determined that I am motivated in a variety of ways by the following things, in no particular order:

1. Fear of embarrassment.
2. Comfort.
3. Chocolate chips.
4. Humour.
5. Beauty.
6. Something within me I cannot explain, something curious, something at the core, something compelling, something I should listen to more carefully.
7. A need to express myself, especially through writing.
8. Creativity and the Arts.
9. Friendship, companionship and love.
10. Change: new places, new faces, new embraces.
11. Gratitude.
12. People who are inspiring, people who snort when they laugh, people who can laugh at themselves, people with vision.
13. A desire to provide something better for others.
14. Unexpected and undeserved kindness.
15. Being cheap.
16. The bills at the end of the month.
17. Selfishness, stupidity and anger.
18. Knowledge and learning.
19. Possibilities.
20. Cake.

     I recommend a list of motivations. An honest list, both positive and negative. Why? Consider Zig Ziglar's advice regarding achieving success in life: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.”