Motivation

[clayhenry17]

Hey Brothers and Sisters,

I am aking you for your thoughts about your own motivations in life. Please respond with things, theories, quotes, people, reasons, etc that you find best motivate you, inspire you, and keep you going 110%. Anything that you think helps keep you motivated, I am interested in. Also if you have a moment please list some things that detract from your motivation. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and inputs.

[E_man9RFD]

Well, for me, my family keeps me going. They are my strength, and I am theirs.

As far as quotes there are a few, two of which I use as signiatures. Here are the others:

"Those who believe they can, and those who believe they can't, are both right."

"What counts is not the number of hours you put in, but how much you put in those hours."

"Unless we try to do something beyond what we have already mastered, we cannot grow."

"And then the time came when it was more painful to remain tight in a bud rather than to blossom."

I like the last two. I sometimes hope that the words will help those who resist change. Especially in the Fire Service.


There are some songs: Hang on- Little River Band. And for a pick me up (yeah I know its corny) there is a line from "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba: "I get knocked down, but I get up again, there ain't nothing that'll keep me down."

As far as things that sway me from doing the job I love, there aren't any that I know of. There are times when I feel the pain of others, such as the loss of a brother or sister firefighter, and of course the loss of any child, but these losses don't keep me from doing the job.

Thanks for listening to me ramble. Oh yeah, here are the other two quotes:

[tc1chief]

My Grandfather use to always tell us a story when we were down and things seemed to be getting out of hand and it went like this.

This farmer had an old mule it wasnt good for much but he seemed to love the old mule. One day the mule fell down in an old well and started crying and breying. The farmer heard the mule and went to check on it and saw that it had fell into the well. after several attempts to rescue the mule with no success the farmer seemed to give up all hope. He went to the barn and got a shovel and began digging dirt and trowing it into the well to burry the mule and get it our of its missery. After shoveling for a while he noticed that the mule was quiet. The farmer had given up all hopes for the mule and leaned over the side of the well to give a final good-by to the mule. The farmer was amazed at what he saw the mule was fine for every shovel full of soil that the farmer had thrown onto the mule's back it seemed that the mule had shaken it off and took a step up. So do like the mule, when someone puts a load onto your back shake it off and take a step up....

I know that when grandad told us this it was ficitional but it just makes sense. If only grandad was still living life may be as easy as he always made it sound...


William C. Allison II
Chief

[firedog11ku]

For me, the biggest motivator is my family and friends. I want them to always be proud of the things I do. I know that they are not crazy about my career choice, but they are very proud that I put my head down and drove to what I wanted to do, even when others said that it was stupid. Another thing would be my girlfriend and her two little girls. When I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is hear their voices or see their smiles and everything else just melts away.

Deterents for me would be things like having to drive 100 miles to work and working an average of 100hours a week.

The quote that I live and die by is:
"Loyalty above all, except honor."

If I start to think that I'm not good enough, I always remember my great grandpa, may he rest in peace, saying "Don't ever let anyone else tell you that you can't."

Lokking for the good in everything the key to happiness. I heard a quote once that went something like "If you go looking for a foot in the a**, eventually you will find it.

I hope these help you.

[xenophon13]

This quote from Theadore Roosevelt will always hold a special place for me.
It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions: who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat

This one also means a lot to me but I cannot remember who said it,
No person was ever honored for what he received. honor has been the reward for what he gave.

[ 07-20-2001: Message edited by: xenophon13 ]

[ntvilleff]

I have two reasons for motivation.
1) My 12 year old son David.
2) My 11 year old son Steven.

Though I may have done some stupid things when I was younger, now that I have children, I find that I make better decisions because of them. Kids really do take after their parents, although not necessarily when you want them to. If I don't give them a good role model to follow, who will? (my twelve year old say he wants to be a firefighter like his Dad...just chokes you up inside

[firefighter26]

My motivation, like many others here, comes from my family as well as the good I know we do.

My father is a member of my department (as the chief), my mother works in the office, and my two little sisters are always kicking around (sometimes I think they know more about some of the equipment then some probies do.). When ever I feel down, they help pick me back up again as only a family member knows how.

Together with my father, when every one of us is having an off day, we remember the 17th of November, 2000. That morning we were toned out to single vehicle MVA. A seventeen year old female (who I later discovered attended the same school as I did) lost control and rolled her car down an embankment. She suffered multiple neck and back injuries. It took us 40 minutes to extricate her. We recieved word later that week that she was in a halo-harness and backplate. Last spring, we got a phone call from her mother thanking us for doing our job, and that her daugther was able to walk and was making a full recovery. It was one of those calls that when ever you think about it, you feel better knowing we made the difference.

Things that get me down around the department:
I believe in equal shares for everyone. It really gets me mad when members do the bare minumim of work, and then spout off about how things never get down. I have come to realize that this is a norm in the fireservice, so it does not get to me like it used to.

The regional district that oversees the FDs in the area also gets me going. They are the paid politicians that sit in an office all day and think up things for us as volunteers to do. NONE of them have any fire service experience and only care about covering their political asses. They don't care about the job we do, or the lives and property we save. They care about themselves. The HARDEST thing is not dealing with the 3am fatalities or working a multiple alarm structure fire. It is having to deal with petty-politicials that don't even know the address to the station (they have phoned many times to get it).


Good topic. Of course, I have to say that the above opinion is mine and mine alone and does not represent any organization I am a member of.... Don't you hate disclaimers!

[pwc606]

I would have to say that the thought of not succeeding motivates me to go that extra mile and make sure that I win at all costs. I know this is a team sport and there is no "I" in Team, but the thought of failing to do my job really bothers me. I dont want to second guess myself at the end of the big one or have someones loved one second guess me in their time of need.
One of my motivations for success is my wife. She motivates me everyday when I leave for work to come home. The thought of not being able to see her anymore just doesn't sit with me and can't imagine life without her.

I can also remember back when I was in the Navy. One of the Chiefs I worked for liked to use the "F" word a lot and threaten to place a size 10D boonedocker so far up my backside that it would make my breath smell like shoe polish. I can still hear him ranting about how no one would do the job for me if I didn't do it myself. And Lord help the fool that didn't do it right the first time.
Its amazing what a motivational speaker will do for you also. A young man in his late twenties or early thirties came to speak at my high school my senior year. His motivational words were, "MOUNTAIN, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I can still hear them today as I face the everyday challenges at work that we must deal with. He spoke for a good hour or two that day. And when he was done I stayed around to shake his hand and thank him. I don't know how many people actually heard what he said that day, but I know I did. Thanks Montel!!!
I like to do my job. I like to work with people that like to do their job. If I can motivate someone to do it a little better I try. I also look for people who can motivate me to do my end of the job better as well.

The Marines have a saying: SEMPER FI, Always Faithful. Docs like to call it Semper Gumby, always flexible. Roll with the punches and keep on gettin' some. Motivation starts on the inside. Be faithful to yourself and the rest is gravy.