A little push is good even if it isn't the ideal incentive

[Cameron2000]

We often hear it said that we should only get involved in self improvement for ourselves and not for anybody else. In other words some say that working out or improving physical appearance or getting a better job or taking better care of the car is something we need to do for ourselves.

 

But I don't think there's anything wrong with having an initial push to improve even if it is not the ideal incentive. What I mean is if the prospect of landing dates or sex is the only motivation that a guy has for improving his appearance and his car and his career then I think it is fine as long as the initial motivation is temporary and serves as a jump start push in the right direction. Hopefully as he continues on the path to improvement he will realize that these changes are good for him whether he desires a girlfriend or not. Even though the initial motivation for changing wasn't ideal it can be useful as a jump start. Maybe halfway through the self improvement program he begins to have the right motives.

 

There's many things in life that we initially do with motives that are not ideal such as paying taxes. Most of us if we admit it don't really want to pay taxes and if we could find some legal loophole to get away with not being taxes then we would take advantage of it. Most citizens pay taxes because they fear being caught by the IRS if they don't.

 

When we were children we obeyed our parents initially because we didn't want to be spanked or grounded but later on as we grew up we realized that our parents instructions were for our own good and we obeyed because they only had our best interests at heart. They wanted to see us do well and succeed if they are good parents. There was nothing wrong with a child initially obeying his parents out of fear of punishment even though the motives were not ideal.

 

So fear can be a great motivator temporarily even if it is not the ideal motivation for change but hopefully with time the motives change to something more ideal.

 

So my point is this. If a guy needs the prospect of getting laid to be an initial motivation for him to go to the gym and get in better shape then so be it. If the prospect of getting laid is what motivates him to take better care of his car and learns how to change the oil and other things then so be it. I think the ends justifies the temporary means.