Writing, Among Other Things
“We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it.”
– Peter F. Drucker
Motivation, as a concept, has intrigued experts for ages. The above quote by Drucker succinctly defines all that we know about motivation. New books on the subject, however, keep coming out every year, and each of these books sells quite well because, each one of them claims to take the level of your motivation to a new high. But, does that really happen?
If you are anything like me, it does.
“Well begun is half done,” Aristotle said. And Aristotle, as we all know, was a very smart man. This quote by Aristotle, however, presents only one part of the picture, and the picture is quite incomplete without the other half, which is as important as the first half. This other half can be summarised with Shakespeare’s line, “All’s well that ends well”.
In my discussions with friends and peers, I often come across instances where someone starts writing something, and then, somewhere in the middle, they lose interest and give up. I myself have done that many times. An idea strikes me. I sit down on my computer in right earnest, and then, half way through, I feel that the idea was not as exciting as it initially seemed. I lose all interest in completing what I had started, and the piece remains unfinished forever.
Does that ever happen to you?
Once, many years ago, I was walking down a road, when a hand suddenly came to rest upon my shoulder. I jumped in surprise, and turned to see a man looking down at me. He was staring at somewhere around my waist. The word “PERVERT” immediately formed itself in my mind, but before I could react, the man said, “Wow, your wrists, you must play cricket?”
“Ummmm, Yes, a little!” I said. Everyone in India plays a little cricket.
“You must be a batsman,” he continued. Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered. “I have not seen wrists like yours… they are almost like Sachin Tendulkar’s, or Brian Lara’s,” he finished. If you don’t know who those two are, suffice it to say that they are the best of the best in the game of Cricket. I was flattered earlier, but I think the English language does not have a word to describe what I felt now. We talked for a little bit more, and then we parted ways.
Till this day, I sometimes feel, that I made a wrong career choice. Maybe I was born to be a cricketer.
On the Internet, it is easy to find many definitions of the word creativity. In real life, this word is over used, and often abused, with its meaning changing according to the needs of the speaker. Mostly, it is seen as something which one possesses, or not. People often use sweeping statements like, “I am just not as creative as he is,” or “My younger son has the creative streak in him.“
It has come to be widely believed that creativity is a gift bestowed upon us mortals by some divine power. If you are lucky, you have it, otherwise you are stuck with being a person with little, or no, imagination.
So, which one are you? Are you a creative individual, or are you one of the unimaginative ones? But, before you try to answer that, try to answer this question : “What is creativity?”
It’s that time again. After a long time, I have decided to hold a contest on the blog again. The purpose of having this contest is two fold:-
i) To interact with bloggers.
ii) To spread the word about the first annual “The MAG” Short Story Writing Contest.
The Prize:
Before I tell you about the contest, let me tell you what you stand to win. If you win the contest, you get to have your 125 X125 ad on the blog for a period of six months. Your ad will be placed right above the “Write Network” badge. Interested? Read on for details.
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