Intention Means More Than Motivation

Those lovable psychologists do all kinds of research (without bodily fluids) and sometimes it is clever stuff. Practical stuff. Stuff you can apply, often nearly immediately, to make your life better.

James Clear often comes up with these.

I remember being told very early in life (age 9, in gifted children’s school) that a high IQ is NOT a guarantee of success.

I remember feeling befuddled, thinking they were just pushing us to work hard. That nobody really knew what become of us down the road.

Later I learned that success would come from something called “motivation.” General definitions abound, mentioning words like “desire” and “will” and “behavior.”

It seems to be highly individual — something that comes from inside.

Anyone who knows me really well knows I felt downright compelled to study the brain, because of the mental illness of my family of origin.  I was not aware of the precise difference between motivation and intention until I read James Clear’s article. If you aren’t familiar with this writer, he isn’t a scientist or researcher. I’ll quote from his website to tell you what he is:

“I’m an author, photographer, and weightlifter focused on habits and decision making. My writing combines ideas from a wide range of disciplines — biology, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and more. My goal is to learn and share the most important concepts for building better habits and mastering the routines that shape our life and work.”

Intent is a statement of purpose. The desire to use a particular means to get a particular result.  A delightfully practical definition here — actually it comes from the world of law.

I was certainly motivated to research and treat the brain. But the daily grind of medical school did not always relate to the brain. After all, there are other organs, too.

There was a card at the foot of my bed that said :
“Remember when you said you’d do anything to be a doctor.”

It also had — from time-to-time — special lectures or exams that were difficult to do for one or another reason.

Dates and times.

Thinking of those had been intention, more than motivation.

I had motivation to write this post. I promised myself I would finish it by the end of the day.

Intention.

I finished it!