Motivation

I woke up today thinking about what motivates me.  It's actually pretty simple.  I've always been motivated by the desire to help people. This goes back as far as I can remember.  As I got older, I "narrowed" this desire somewhat in terms of wanting to help older adults live better lives.  I often relate that to the close relationship I had with my grandparents and the fact that I've always had an affinity for older adults.  As a child, I'd hang out with the older adults at family get togethers.  Once I was on the path to becoming a physician, geriatrics was the natural course, despite my initial thought that I'd want to be a pediatrician.  Everything that I've ever done in my work life, and honestly, even in my personal life away from work, has been driven by my desire to help older adults.  That is my primary motivation.

There have been times and circumstances in my life where others have questioned my actions.  Recently, I've encountered a situation that may cause some to pause and ask why I am doing what I'm doing.  My response will be the same, consider who I am and what motivates me.  I've always lived by that credo, and will continue to do so. We all make decisions on a daily basis.  I like to tell people that being a geriatrician, I've never made a clinical decision where I had 100% certainty about the outcome.  I think that's pretty much the norm in or lives.  Rarely do we make decisions where we are 100% certain about the outcome.  There are always mitigating factors, complications, and complex dynamics involved in making decisions and finding our path.  Under these circumstances, I know one thing, and that's my moral compass and what motivates me.

I have never shied away from taking on highly complex projects.  Being a geriatrician, that almost goes without saying.  When I started my primary care geriatrics practice, many people told me I was crazy.  'You can't make money doing primary care geriatrics.'  When I became the CEO overseeing a nursing home chain with a very complex history, some people questioned why I wanted to do that.  In both cases, the answer was actually quite simple.  I wanted to make a difference in the lives of older adults.  That has always been my prime motivation.  It's easy to question anyones decisions, especially without all of the facts. Unfortunately, none of us ever have all of the facts.  We are left to make decisions on the best available evidence.  But we also make our decisions based on what motivates us.  For me, that motivation has always been clear.  It should be clear to others as well.