on motivation and traits to avoid

First, a few quotes to get the wheels turning...

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.
-Socrates

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
-Martin Luther King, Jr

The most violent element in society is ignorance.
-Emma Goldman

By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy - indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self satisfaction.
-William Osler

So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness, which in the long run can have a more devastating effect.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Secondly, my motivation for writing this: I did some reading on a blog from a respected outdoor sports Boulderite; initially, his writing about why he skydives, highlines, etc. I was compelled to comment that his justification for doing "crazy" things seemed a bit selfish, especially since his argument was based on eliminating the concept of self. I then came across a startling later post of his where he effectively announced he was stopping outdoor sports because his motivation was all wrong. If you've never read anything like this before, you should read it as a cautionary tale to hopefully avoid pursuing peer recognition or glory over the real reason to pursue the freedom of the hills.

This post honestly scared me, and made my think about the reason I ski, climb, hike, ride my bikes, etc. I thought about the traits which could take root in me and cloud my motivation to the point of ruining a sport for me. I think the four traits below are the most critical to avoid in order to keep motivation pure.

1. a hearty appetite for peer acceptance, praise and recognition: wanting to hear that what you did was awesome is blatant proof that you're doing something for the wrong reason
   
2. complacency: feeling like the level of accomplishment you currently stand at is good enough is a surefire way to guarantee you won't be the best at your folly of choice
   
3. apathy: simply not caring or lacking the desire to improve is a definite sign that you have lost the true reason you started to pursue something
   
4. apathy towards ignorance: not caring that you don't know either how to improve or that you have all the information to make a good decision is probably the most egregious and concerning trait here, and is probably one of the biggest problems in the United States today.
   

It's obvious but worth noting that avoiding these four traits applies to everything you do and not just outdoor sports. I might have to re-read this to myself in the future whenever I feel I'm veering off the correct course.