Motivation Is Not Enough

For those of us who have been in the Scouting program for a while, we have experienced challenges and we’ve been tested – within our local units, our council, and as a national organization. More often than not, the challenges we face locally are outside of our control, but we still must face them, as a team and individually. Sometimes when we’re tested, it’s not to show us our weaknesses, but for us to discover our strengths.

Our membership numbers are low, our public perception is tarnished, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, and parents and families have more choices about where to spend their time, and life’s distractions are never ending.

We are all here in attendance tonight because we believe in this program, the values it represents, and the lives of the youth that we encounter along the way. We know the consequences if we stop. We know we must keep working towards our common goal. Our strength lies in our unified mission.

It’s not an easy road. It’s going to take a lot of effort, some difficult conversations, perhaps challenging decisions, but we need to be motivated to work together for the success of the program.

I’ll leave you tonight with the following passage from the book ‘Everyday Enlightenment’ by Dan Millman.

In this world, persisting toward a goal requires either a ‘want’ or a ‘will.’

When you ‘want’ something – when you act out of desire – you depend upon feelings of motivation, interest, or excitement to carry you past problems to your goal. You don’t need will.

When you ‘will’ something – when you act out of duty, commitment, loyalty, or integrity – you depend only upon your power to act. You don’t need motivation. You persist because it is the right thing to do, or because of the consequences of not doing it, or simply because it needs doing. You call upon the sleeping giant within you, the power of your will.

Motivation is a welcome wind at your back. But winds are changeable and fickle; motivation comes and goes.

Will is a faithful friend, at your side in both the sunlit days and dark nights of the soul, speaking quietly of what is important and good. You can depend upon your will, because it comes from within you.

So sail the winds of motivation when they blow, but in the calms and dry spells, rely on your will to carry you through.

Thank you for being here tonight, for doing what you do for Scouting. Have a safe journey home, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the Scouting trail.