Do You Believe It?

Posted: Thursday May 14, 2009 under

Some time back, there was a middle school in Oregon that had a unique problem. A number of girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. After some unsuccessful attempts to stop this, the principal finally called all the girls into the bathroom with the custodian. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it was to clean the mirrors, she asked the custodian to clean one of the mirrors. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it into the toilet and then cleaned the mirror… Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

That principal knew something about human motivation. It wasn’t enough for the girls to see that the principal wanted them to change their behavior, they had to buy into it… they had to believe it. But belief comes in degrees.

The girls are motivated to change their behavior because they believe it’s in their own best interest to do so. Are they excited about the change? Do they feel passionate about it? Have they changed their belief that it’s okay to cause extra work for the school custodian? Not really.

You might recall the scene from The Godfather where a Hollywood producer is made “an offer he can’t refuse” to put a Corleone family member in his movie. He wakes up one morning with a nasty surprise in his bed. Is he motivated? Yes. Is he excited? No. Does he believe in change he’s making? No.

We can obviously be motivated to do things we absolutely don’t want to do. But inspiration is something a little different.

Motivation leads us to act. Inspiration leads to us to act in a committed, passionate way. I’m motivated to eat every day, but I’m truly inspired by German Chocolate cake. I’m motivated to slow my car down when I see a police car, but I’m inspired to slow my car down when I pass by a beautiful landscape.

Motivation changes behavior. Inspiration changes minds… attitudes. My boss tells me I have to attend a training course, and I’ll go because I want to keep my job, even if I think the course is a waste of time. However, my boss sits down and helps me see how this training course will make me better at my job and career, and I may change my mind—my attitude—about attending the course.

The middle school girls in Oregon may be motivated to stop kissing the bathroom mirror because they believe it is in their best interest, but they need a bit more inspiration to truly believe in the long-term change the principal wants… to change their minds and hearts.