Extra Motivation Essay

Doesn’t everyone need a little motivation sometimes? Whether it’s to go to work, to exercise, or to achieve one of their goals, a little extra motivation never hurts anybody. Stephen King’s Quitters Inc., follows a man who joins a firm to knock his bad habit of smoking, with tons of obstacles along the way guaranteeing his decision to quit. By examining achieving their goals, staying off of their phone in class, and doing their homework, one can see that sometimes a teenager needs extra motivation to accomplish something in life. One can see by examining a teenager, that they may need extra motivation to stay off of their phone during classes. Being on their phone during class time can distract the student from getting his/her assignments done to the best of their ability with all of their attention on the teacher or paying attention to the lessons being taught. If a student receives a text message that upsets or angers them, their mindset will change and this can keep them from doing their best to succeed. Donatti gave Morrison the extra motivation he needed by using his family as a motive to quit for good. To get Morrison’s full attention, Donatti states “Oh no, your wife gets the rabbit trick, not you,” (King, 217). This shows Donatti using a rabbit as an example to show Morrison that he needs extra motivation to quit smoking. If Morrison puts one cigarette to his mouth and lights it, his wife will get put in the electric room and she will be shocked for 30 seconds while he is forced to watch. This gives him extra motivation to throw out all of his cigarettes and obey Donatti and the contract. A student could benefit from the same motivation but not to that extent. A teacher may need to take the phone away and the student’s grade will suffer from not paying attention. To keep their phones and grades up, teenagers often need extra motivation to stay off their phones during class to ensure they’re getting the best education.
One can see by examining all assignments handed out on a daily basis, a student may need extra motivation to complete all of their homework on time. In high school, students are required to do numerous items of homework every day after school which can lead to slacking. If given multiple assignments in every class, you can see how a student can become very overwhelmed and will start to not do things they may think are less important to their schooling. For example, if the student thinks they are doing well in math class and understand all of the materials, they may stop doing their math homework which can prevent them from practicing and understanding the questions causing their grades to drop when they can’t answer similar questions on the test. In Quitters Inc., Donatti uses Morrison’s weight as a motive to stay smoke-free, telling him that he must not go over one hundred and eighty-two pounds or they will cut his wife’s finger off. After Morrison asks what the consequences will be if he doesn’t watch his weight, Donatti states he will “send someone out to [his] house and cut off [his] wife’s little finger,” (King, 226). This gives Morrison extra motivation to keep his weight under one hundred and eighty-two and save his wife from getting her finger cut off. If the student starts slacking doing homework, the teacher may have to step in and explain to the student’s parent’s that their child will fail the course if they don’t start focusing on all subjects instead of just the most important. The student’s parents may also have to take away something important to their son or daughter such as their phone or Xbox to motivate them to do work and not give it back until all assignments are being regularly done and handed in on time. Teenagers often need extra motivation to do their homework regularly and hand in assignments on time.
One can see that by examining a student’s goals, they may need extra motivation to achieve the best results. High school students are responsible for keeping track of many different aspects of their life. They may have a part time job, studying to get their license, have tons of homework to do, have to watch their siblings, or could be focusing on all of these things at one time. With all of this weight on their shoulders, they may forget about some other things that aren’t the number one priority in their life. For example, achieving goals such as being nicer to siblings, trying to remember to put their retainers in before bed, or remembering about the laundry they have to do are tasks that can be easily forgotten with so much on their mind. Donatti tries to get Morrison to overcome his addiction by threatening his son who won’t understand what’s going on even if someone explained the situation. After naming off multiple punishments, Donatti tells Morrison, “He’ll only know someone is hurting him because Daddy was bad. He’ll be very frightened,” (King, 218). This is showing Donatti threatening Morrison using his child, informing him after a couple of slip ups, he will bring his son into the office and place him in a room where he will be beaten. This gives Morrison even more motivation to quit, previously threatening his wife multiple times and now using his son as another reason. One cannot imagine either a principal or teacher would go this far to ensure students are reaching their goals, but parents or teachers in guidance may have to sit down and talk with their child about keeping their focus on the most important subjects in their life. They can discuss with their child some tips on how to keep focused and calm when dealing with so much stress in their life such as making a list focusing on the priorities and their deadlines. Encouragement that comes from a situation such as this, can be a huge factor in motivating the teenager to what good can come from this in the future. To keep teenagers from giving up or forgetting what they were working towards, they may need some extra motivation to help them achieve their goals.
One can see how important extra motivation can be to teenagers by helping them accomplish everyday tasks. By persuading them to stay off their phones during class, finish all assignments on time, and remain focused on achieving their goals, teenagers are much more motivated with encouragement from those around them. By looking at Jim Morrison from Stephen King’s Quitters Inc., one can notice how a little encouragement can go a long way and can be helpful in overcoming an unpleasant situation. Sometimes, all anyone ever needs to get out of a dilemma is a little motivation to help them realize they’re not the only person that’s ever been stuck in that position. Have you ever been in a crisis where motivation hasn’t contributed in a successful turnout?