Motivation (return of the meandering rant)

The various titles of this blog revolve around it, but I don't believe I've ever really explained why.

It is my belief that the saying, "it's the thought that counts" is a 1/2 tonne load of bullshit. Not quite a full tonne of bullshit, but close enough. While I do agree that the thought does actually count, too often people throw around this cliché as an excuse. The problem is that it's not an excuse, at least, not a very good one. What it is, however, is a perspective; a perspective that demotes the importance of delivered, actionable results.

If you give a crappy gift, that's your fault. Yes, the receiver can be graceful and show appreciation for the "thought" of the gift, but what "thought" was going through the giver's head? Was it: "I need to find the best and most appropriate gift"? I'd venture a guess that as time passed, the thought morphed from "best and most appropriate gift" to "I need something and I need it now!"

Let's say the gift was given with the best intentions and the giver was fully expecting it to go over like gang busters. It doesn't. What happened here? Were faulty assumptions and/or conclusions made? Doesn't matter. The execution is the key point here, not the intent.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions? Well, smart mouth, so is the road to heaven... Or any road, for that matter. The intent is immaterial to the end result by which it is viewed and judged.

So what does any of this have to do with motivation?

I forget. But I meant well.