Motivation by Implying Fear

Most people encourage action by implying fear.

How true is that?

I ponder on the subject for the whole evening after getting the idea from a book I was reading and agreed that it is how the world works.

From young, you’ll definitely hear mama telling you

“You better finish up the vegetables or the policeman will put you in jail!” or

“You better do your homework or your teacher will punish you”.

How often do you hear people telling you

“You better go to college and get a degree or you won’t get a good job” or

“You better study hard or you will be a road sweeper!”

When you get out of school and land yourself in your first paying job, people start telling you “You better buck up or you’ll be fired”.

Or “You better not step on your bosses tail or you’re gonna get screwed!”

So, does it means that fear actually get people going?
Fear is the only way to get people doing what they should be doing?
Is that the only effective motivation or is it the easiest motivation?

Sometimes, I do think that this way is not as effective as it used to be. When the world is now conquered by Information Technology aka the Internet, people are smarter and information travels a lot faster. People know more. People know what they should be doing and what they should not be doing. People know the differences between doing good and bad that will affect their lives. People learn from other people around the world.

So, what I can conclude is…

Motivation or encouragement by fear does not work as effective as before when people nowadays are so much more informed.

My advice is to encourage people by being compassionate and motivate others by your knowledge.