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To motivate is "to provide with incentive; move to action; impel." (American Heritage Dictionary AHD, Fourth Edition.)

What motivates us in life? Our families? Our jobs? Making money? Love? Devotion to another?

What makes you get out of bed in the morning? The fact that you have to go to work and make money to provide for your family? The fact that you have children to care for? A job that you love, or hate?

Focus is defined as "a center of interest or activity." Another definition is "close attention; concentration."(AHD)

For mental health, let's speak about the emotional and spiritual well-being of the individual along with physical health, which creates a well-rounded, high-level-functioning person.

Now this article's title can be rephrased: What moves us to action around a central interest that draws our close attention in life, which creates our mental health and well-being?

This can be answered in a very general way, such as, we all want happiness and contentment; lots of money; good health; and loving, caring people around us. Then we should have a world of happy people.

But we create our own problems among the many choices that Life offers us to find happiness. Few people are always happy, no matter what they're doing.

Happiness is: music; humor; the joys of Nature; the laughter of children; good health; wealth; good friends; cuddly pets; and whatever else you enjoy. One person's terrific experience on a roller coaster could be another person's moment of terror.

Like draws like: positivity draws positivity. It is a natural law. We must seek our own path to happiness. The best pathway is to be "whole" in mind, body, and spirit. There is a balance in life, which creates mental health because we are complex creatures that require more than simple food, water and shelter for survival.

I'm going to draw language from Dr. Wayne Dyer, a psychologist with a Ph.D. who lectures and writes about self-development (with over 30 books in print), and Dr. Deepak Chopra, an M.D. (endocrinologist) with a background in Ayurvedic (Indian for "knowledge of life") medicine who heads the Chopra Center in California. Chopra also has over 50 books in print. These amazing men have become friends who teach about balancing the mind and body, mainly through meditation.

For two serious academics to come together and teach about "spiritual matters" is rather amazing in itself, but their combined works should make the world a better place if people listen to them. From hours of teachings

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