Exploring for my authentic theme and question

To be honest, soon after I finished writing my first post, I realised that what I had written here was superficial and not what I authentically wanted to tackle. I was disappointed in myself for a while…

I told what I did to a friend from another faculty member, who introduced me to the book below, which shows how to find authentic research questions that continuously motivate people. Since then, I have followed its description and re-thought the themes/questions for my final project. This post shares with you the book and what thoughts/ideas are in my head. They are not entirely set in stone yet, but I guess I am in the right direction.

(Introducing the specific method/process of finding a research question people would be highly motivated to pursue)

‘My parents expect me to go to university.’

I often hear these comments, and sometimes I “feel” the same thing even when people make plausible reasons why they learn. I am worried about them studying while externally motivated.

Is it truly good for them? Although I don’t say internal motivation is necessary, I believe it brings people happiness and energy to tackle difficulties while learning. Furthermore, considering the impacts on society, won’t there be a lot of academic innovations if people don’t want to learn? If such people get a job relating to their studies, won’t they perform well? I assume people who study without personal motivation would negatively impact society.

Reflecting on what I do at work, I am providing people with the time/chance to think/explore about what they want to learn/do in their lives. Currently, I am making educational programs run by the private sector in a rural town in Japan. However, there must be a lot of ways to encourage people to find their motivation and critical process that would be common in multiple ways, so I am eager to know about that.

This is what I am currently thinking about. I am open to any feedback and comments, so please feel free to leave your ideas! They will be helpful for me to dig into the theme/question for my research.

Just for the record:
Here are the other words which I naturally got excited while reading academic papers. Could they also be good clues to find the theme?
-Playfulness
-Simplicity
-Less options
-doing/being
-Meritocracy
-Physicality
-Possibilities
-Career break
-Exploring the unknown

📸 taken by me this weekend in Loch Lomond.