The ease and comfort of your couch and air-conditioned home will always be calling your name. Ignore the temptation for an easy life.

Whenever I ask for topics people want to learn about in my column, “how to stay motivated” is always at the top of the list. Motivation is in high demand: you see it all over Instagram in memes, pictures, and captions. Despite the high demand, it sure seems like it’s in short supply….

We need to discuss passion and our affective response to any autotelic activity: it is important to understand that humans engage in things for internal forces other than survival.

For the next three or four articles, this is our topic: motivation. This first part will explore the construction of meaning, identity, and the origins of motivation.

Worked well for Cain, not so well for Abel.