10. Demotivation

The destructive force is the antithesis of the constructive and may be termed demotivation. Motivation is analogous to constructive life energy and demotivation with the destructive. Demotivation is a reflection of the substance of the positive core.

The person who becomes latently motivated does not have enough motivation to convert pain into energy for development and maturity; he does not have the strength to connect with his own anguish, which is a precondition of his being able to assimilate it. Instead, the life energy of the latently motivated is sufficient only to transmute the pain so that it remains – but does so in such a distorted form that the individual no longer has any contact with it.

Case Study

Andrew is a 55-year-old skilled worker. He has been married to the same woman for many years and has three adult children and four grandchildren. At the age of 53, Andrew becomes unemployed. He takes it hard and falls into a depression. His wife reaches her wits’ end and files for a divorce. At the same time, one of their daughters commits suicide. Soon afterward, Andrew contacts the psychiatric services and is put on a course of antidepressants.

He starts to drink and soon meets a woman in her twenties, with whom he moves in. She is an active substance abuser and offers him drugs. Andrew himself becomes a drug user, and soon he is mixing pretty much exclusively with other addicts. During rehabilitation, he denies or makes light of his substance abuse (Motivational Work, Part 1 Values and Theory, page 91).

Conclusion

Andrew meets adversity in the form of unemployment. This, in turn, elicits a pain that he does not have the life energy to handle. Therefore, his demotivation is augmented as a survival strategy. A destructive life process is embarked upon, starting with a depression. His self-destructive behavior then accelerates through the drink and drugs, and his addiction gradually changes his life. Looking at the external phenomenon, we see the tragic downfall of a man. But this is his way of dealing with his pain; the “gain” for him is that he does not need to grapple with his real anguish. His self-destructive behavior serves as an emotional relief for him.