For this event blog, I watched a Ted Talk called “The Puzzle of Motivation.” I thought that this would be a good one to watch because currently I have no motivation to finish out the semester and I thought that this Ted Talk might give me some inspiration.

The Ted Talk did not give me any more motivation, but it was still interesting. The talk looked at studies to see if monitary reward motivated people to do better work. In multiple studies, researchers found that in fact, the higher the reward, the worse/slower the work was done. The talk did not really explain in detail why money does not always motivate people. It did say though, that when tasks were purely mechanical, then a higher reward does produce higher productivity. However, when any kind of critical thinking or creativity was involved then the lower reward then the higher the productivity. The speaker then went on to explain that he has studied human motivation for years, and what he found was that there are three things that motivate people to do good work. Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. That is, the freedom to do their own work, the desire to become great at some skill, and the mission to have in impact greater than themselves.

The one aspect that the speaker focussed on was Autonomy. He talked about googles 20% rule. This means that employees have the freedom to work on any project that they want for 20% of their time at work. Some of Google’s best products have come out of this time. For example, Gmail and Google News were invented in employees free time. This is the kind of productivity that comes out of autonomy.

I think that this concept can be applied to college in many ways. For example, I know that some professors allow students to take classes at their own pace, with no strict deadlines. There are also examples in our own Critical Thinking class (Thanks Dr. Bezio!). For example, we were allowed to choose any topic that we wanted for our research project. Because we have the freedom to chose a topic that we are passionate about, we likely will do better work. Also, in terms of purpose, the Giving Games project was a good example of this. We knew that our work would have a real impact in the world, and so we worked harder at it.

Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_the_puzzle_of_motivation?language=en

The first outside event I attended was the InterPoint discussion “Who Even Cares About Race?” that occurred early in the semester. I had a class with Lauren Stenson, the sophomore who worked incredibly hard to put the event series together, first semester this year where she told all of us about the event so I had already been planning on going. While this event had been planned for months, it turned out to be especially timely as it occurred the week following the racist attacks that happened on campus. The turn out for the discussion was overwhelming and students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds came to share, learn, and support our community.

Going into it, I wasn’t sure exactly how the discussion was going to be facilitated. Attendees were asked how they identified racially and then divided into groups led by trained student facilitators. After playing ice breakers, our group leader posed a series of questions that anyone in the group could respond to. While I didn’t share anything personally, it was such an amazing way for me to hear the voices and stories of my classmates and better understand their experiences both on campus and in life in general. I was impressed both by the openness of those in my groups who shared and by the level of preparation that went into the event. It was incredibly well run and hard to believe that it was solely put on by students. I know that there were supposed to be two more of these discussions this semester that unfortunately were not able to happen given the circumstances, but I hope when we return to campus more discussions like this will be facilitated. 

Large portions of this reading can be attributed to the happenings in our world right now. Honestly, it is a scary place where I think the majority feel powerless because of the paralyzing fear placed in our heads. However, one piece of the reading from Zinn’s essay has a bit of a double meaning right now. He states that we must remember that while those with power seem to be untouchable, we must always remember that they are in fact vulnerable if people begin to defy their authority and withhold any and all obedience. This statement is most likely referring to leaders of governments and societies, who seem to hold all the power and that nothing can hurt them. But the people with power who people deem untouchable have changed during this pandemic. I think these leaders are now the people only aiming to make our country safer and healthier.

The nurses and doctors who are risking their lives everyday to simply go to work to help those affected by COVID-19 and any other ailments truly hold a lot of power over who can be helped and how we can help them. “Generals become powerless when their soldiers refuse to fight,” Zinn wrote. Our fight right now is to stay home and stay healthy for the benefits of everyone in our city, state, and country. However, if we do not stay home we simply add on to the increasing numbers of those affected by COVID-19 and begin to overwhelm the doctors and nurses working everyday to save these people. We are taking away their medicine, tools, and hours of rest that right now all add up to the amount of power they have. We have always looked up to medical professionals and view them as saviors who cannot be harmed, but we are only hurting them and increasing their vulnerability by not following their simple requests.

The reading made stop and think for a while. I think I both agree and disagree with it. On one hand, I absolutely understand why and how people can feel like they are powerless. The problems we face are enormous and numerous. Even just one alone, such as climate change, can feel overwhelming and unsolvable. After all, I’m just one person, who isn’t connected, wealthy, or in a position of power. What can I do to have any impact on such a vast, interconnected, and complicated problem?

The problem with this thinking is it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we act like we have no power and can’t solve a problem, then we aren’t going to solve it, validating in our minds that we’re powerless, and continuing the cycle. The people in history that became influential, that fought hard battles, and solved huge problems never started in that position. Even those born into privileged positions had to put in hard work to put themselves in a place where they could combat those issues. And even the most inspiring and intelligent among them wouldn’t have done it if they thought they were powerless. Their belief that they could make a difference helped them get to a place where they could.

Early tonight I was in a video call with some friends and two of my Catholic friends were raving about a Ted Talk they had just watched from Pope Francis. As they were describing it, I was remembered of the “Impossible” reading that I had just completed for class. Upon finishing the video call, I went and watched the Ted Talk.

The Ted Talk is titled “Why the only future worth building includes everyone” and it is essentially the Pope kicking off a Ted Talk convention called “The Future You” in 2017. His talk revolves around the importance of recognizing others and everything they do in order to build the future that people deserve. He talks mainly of the connections that are needed to build this future.

The first connection to leadership that I made in watching this Ted Talk was, like I said, to the “Impossible” reading. Specifically, I saw a relation between the talk and the section where Goska is referring to two jobs that she has worked within her lifetime. In one, she worked as a humanitarian and in the other, as a nurse caring for the old. She noted that when she tells people of these jobs, she is greeted to two very different reactions. With the first, the people that she is explaining the job to see her as virtuous. They see her work as worthwhile because of the larger impact that she was making. Meanwhile, when Goska describes the second job, people see her as a working-class individual. They do not see the impact that she was making on all the people that she cared for. In seeing the difference behind reactions to the two jobs, one can see that those that work the second jobs, or others that are deemed to be on the same caliber, are not recognized by people the way that they need to be to build the future that Pope Francis is talking about. However, Goska, like Pope Francis, argues that people and their contributions need to be recognized at every level because everyone is making an impact in what they do, even if the impact only affects one person.

Further, Pope Francis heavily discusses the need for connections between individuals. People need to be connected to build the future that he envisions. This strongly relates to a section on community that my Justice and Civil Society class did earlier this year. In the section, we discussed how social capital creates a strong sense of community. When people feel as though they are a part of a community, they are more supportive of social welfare actions that benefit members of their community. In make these connections that Pope Francis argues for that include everyone, people will feel connected across the world. The connection will help to create a society, a future that includes everyone.

I watched the TEDtalk titled “My identity is a superpower-not an obstacle” by actress America Ferrera. I watched this TEDtalk before for another class and was inspired of how she overcame her obstacles she had to experience as she worked to reach Hollywood. She spoke about her experiences of being an actress of color and having to work against the adversities agencies and Hollywood has against people of color. No directors wanted to hire her because unless she played a role that fit their idea of a stereotypical Latina (sassy, aggressive, dumb, broken English), they did not see her useful for the part. The need for more of these narratives is necessary to increase diversity and inclusivity in Hollywood.

Similar to most industries in America, there is a lack of diversity within leadership roles in the film industry as well. Looking at actors and those who win academy awards, the majority are white males.  America was rejected a part in a movie because “the movie [was] not financeable” without casting the main white role first. Those that lead in Hollywood refuse to cast diversely. This creates a lack of representation for all other people who watch films that are not white, males, or rich.

Here is the video for anyone would like to watch:

COVID-19 Warning:

What stood out to me most in this reading was a quote in the first section, “the problem is not that we have so little power. The problem is that we don’t use the power that we have” (49). I think that especially today, when it feels like we aren’t in control of what’s happening around us, it is important to remember the power that we have.

This also reminded me of Jepson, and what the school is trying to accomplish. I think one of the biggest things I’ve taken away from my time in Jepson so far is that it doesn’t matter how big or small you think your impact is – at the end of the day you whatever you can do to make meaningful change is important. Especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic, this is even more important to keep in mind. We may feel powerless while in quarantine, and don’t think that our individual actions matter as much in the grand scheme of things. But ultimately, the smallest things we are actively doing (staying home, social distancing, etc.) is saving lives. I also think that there are even smaller things we could do that can take back our power. Reaching out to friends and family members, going to the grocery store at less popular hours to avoid crowds, or even going for a walk (6 feet apart) with a friend can make us feel more human in a time where we’ve lost almost all of our outside physical connections to the outside world.

The passage by Goska hit me deeply, especially the line “The problem is not that we have so little power. The problem is that we don’t use the power that we have.” This is kinda bizarre, but this immediately made me think of my journey with my diet.

We as people are empowered in the decisions we make, and I think sometimes people forget that even in the mundane purchases of clothing, random goods, and FOOD, we are using our influence and power to put money into an industry or company. Ever since I learned of it at the age of 16, I’ve wanted to be vegan, and eat less animal products, due to the immense amount of cruelty and suffering animals go through in the factory farming process. There is also incredible benefits for the environment by choosing to lessen the meat/dairy industry.

I’ll admit, even though it’s 4 years later, my journey to reaching that diet/lifestyle hasn’t been easy. But these readings reminded me that we cannot rob ourselves of the power we do hold. Many of us have the ability to at least control what items we choose to purchase, how much waste we produce, etc., and even those choices can feel incredibly empowering. Overall, I just now feel even more excited to continue living my life according to my values, and making the decisions necessary to support those causes.

The start of the reading really resonated with me because I often do think about how as an individual I can’t make a change.  But I often correct myself by thinking about how if everyone thought that about themselves and never does anything then no changes will be made, so even if I am just one person I will be a part of the change.  But this reading gave a new perspective on this.  It showed how you can make an impact even when you might not realize it, so whether you are a part of the big change or not, you are still part of something.  I’m not sure how well I explained this, but I really liked this new perspective that is discussed at the very beginning of the reading.

A common theme I saw in the reading was power, which connects to what I saw at the very beginning of the reading.  We often underestimate the power and impact that we have which can limit us.  But it is important to recognize that your power in a situation depends on how much power you think you have, so it’s important to know your power and own it.  The reading had a quote that went along with this: “don’t give up the game before all the cards have been played.”  During this pandemic, it is also easy to feel powerless especially since we are encouraged to stay home.  But there are so many ways that we can help others like making care packages for homeless people, or delivering meals or groceries to the elderly, or even just face-timing a friend that you haven’t talked to in a while because maybe they are feeling really alone and isolated.  This feels a little cheesy to be saying but it’s what I kept thinking about as the reading was talking about our power.

The “Impossible reading” discussed a lot about intentions. “The smallest of actions is always better than the noblest of intentions,” (Robin S. Sharma). Intent and action can stand in opposition or in fellowship depending on the way we play out our thoughts. It beckons the question of if we should judge on one’s intent or one’s actions? It has always been impressed upon me that “actions speak louder than words”. When judgement comes into play, it is not our intentions that are decided on but what we do (our actions).

This reminds me off the common plea that was used during the trials of german soldiers who partcipated in the holocaust. They claimed that they were following actions and never had evil intentions. Eichman was a key contributor in what the Nazi’s called the “Final Solution”.  The “Final Solution” was a plan to murder all the Jewish, catholics, disabled and other people considered being unworthy in the eyes of Adolf Hitler. They tasked Eichman in the overseeing of deporting the Jews to ghettos and killing centers in the German-occupied East. “Eichmann, testifying from behind a glass booth to protect him from assassination, asserted that he had not dictated policy, but only carried it out—that he was “merely a little cog in the machinery” of destruction” (Holocaust Museum). The little Cog Eichman: a cog that transported, a cog that imprisoned, and a cog that killed. However, Eichman plead not guilty under the common plea of the Nazi that he was following orders. Eichman was hanged for his actions, not the innocent intent that he claimed. 

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Albus Dumbledore