What Fuels People

According to NASA, each of the two Solid Rocket Boosters on a rocket use more than one million pounds of solids propellant.

According to worldwatch.org, the world's planes use 205 million tons of kerosene fuel each year, and on short flights, 25% of that fuel is used just to take off.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in the year 2013, the United States consumed 134.51 billion gallons of gasoline, which is average of 368.51 million gallons daily.

But what fuels people?

Food, of course. Bread is one of my personal favorites. But that is a bit too literal of a point to make.

I want to know what fuels people. What keeps us going? Why do we wake up every morning to go through the all too grueling task of ripping ourselves out of bed, smelling decent, and heading off to work or school or whatever monotonous routine our days are composed of? Well I'll tell ya, it's not for the carbs.

I think our source of fuel, our weapon against the mediocre, is like a target, composed of three rings.

There is an outer ring,the largest in circumference, that is like fuel from the world. It's your paycheck, it's your vacation days, it's your happy hour. It's all the material things. The things that we mention when we're feeling stressed. “Boy, I could use a glass of wine” or “Man I really need a vacation”. My outer ring, for example, is three hours of “Friends” and a bag of sour gummy worms.

The middle ring, sitting snug between the material world and the bullseye, is like fuel from people. It's a complement in passing, it's a call from your mom, it's a night out with your best friends. It's the people that don't make you want to set your textbooks on fire, or in some cases, it's the people that will help you do it. Your friends, your family, even just the goofy classmate that makes you smile, are matter of the middle ring.

The center, the circle, the bullseye, is of course representative of the fuel from yourself. It's uncommon, it's underestimated, it's a unicorn of a thing, really. We scarcely give ourselves enough credit, and we scarcely give ourselves enough praise. We think that the pat on the back we give ourselves doesn't mean anything, but I'm telling you, it means the most. The two outer rings can dissolve in an instant, and the only source of fuel you will always carry with you, in your innate sense of drive, and passion, and self worth.

 Whether it is the little things, the little people, or the little voice inside your head, people are ultimately fueled by the world around them. If there is tragedy, there is the fuel of recovery. If there is happiness, there is the fuel of fellowship. We always know there is more. We will always have the desire to pry ourselves out of bed and pursue that-our world, our people, and ourselves will be our fuel.

Photo creds here and here