Saved by the minute

Who would have thought that 3 days would be such a struggle?

But here I am writing just before midnight. My wife and I were attending a party tonight of a friend who just graduated with a PhD in Psychology. What a crazy accomplishment! Our friends husband gave a speech and reviewed some of what it took for her to achive this great feat: 330 credit hours and 85 classes over 6 years. Talk about a commitment to the long haul!

Getting a PhD takes a lot of hard work and determination and it also has a support structure. Part of the purpose of this task of mine is to do gain discipline in the areas of my life that have no motivation beyond whatever benefits I receive from the task itself. I am in school right now and there are a lot of external factors that motivate me to do well.

As a positive motivator I will graduate one day, walk across a stage and have people cheer for me, get a piece of paper to put on my wall, etc. There are negative motivators as well: getting on academic probation if I perform poorly and getting bad grades in various classes, being thought less of by professors or classmates, etc.

However, this is something that has no benefit outside of the intrinsic value of the act itself. There is something to be said about people who can really accomplish personal goals without external factors weighing in on motivation. And while I don't believe that there is anything that can truly be disconnected from outside influences, it does make it hard when there is 'less' of an obvious 'gain'.

Just some late night thoughts.