3A: The Good & The Bad

“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Shakespeare once said these words and they seemingly get at the fact that deep thought and thorough logic behind certain subjects lead us to believe that they are in fact good or bad. He is stating that if we didn’t think and over analyze such ideas of certain things we would never be led into believing things are good, bad or hold a negative or positive weight. This quote directly relates to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation because intrinsic motivation is self-driven motivation; and if one is simply self-motivated then outside interaction does not easily affect one’s direct beliefs one what exactly is good or bad. One who is intrinsically motivated then they will come to making their own decisions on what is good or bad. One who is extrinsically motivated is someone who is easily influenced or motivated by an outside force.. so for this person any little outside force that possesses a good or bad thought on something will potentially lean towards this decision. When thinking about a growth mindset and a fixed mindset one potentially already has a predetermined decision on what he or she truly believes is good or bad if one possesses a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is the concept that knowledge is fixed, already possessed when one is born. While on the other hand one who possesses a growth mindset may be more open and susceptible to forming their own belief and opinion on to what exactly is good or bad. A growth mindset is possessed by those truly deep thinkers; those who are willing to step out of their comfort zone in order to learn and try something brand new. Those are seemingly the people who stand alone. In my own opinion, someone who even possesses a growth mindset or fixed mindset or someone who is intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated will still have a preconceived thought as to what is good or bad, so their own thoughts and logic won’t even really matter. We live in a time in which everything is so structured that as soon as you are born you are being told what is wrong and what is right; you’re told what is bad and what exactly is good. The way things are now is deep thought really the reason why we think things are good or bad? Or is it the preconceived concept of good and bad and right and wrong that is forced upon us at such a young age?