Identifying What Motivates You

Know thyself There is actually a wide variety of ways people motivate themselves. For example, my client, an event planner learned quickly that the best way to feel motivated was to set up incentives or prizes for herself. “If I have something special I can work toward, I get a lot more done,” she says. She entices herself with promises of rewards for reaching her goals. For instance, she once told herself that if she had a particular exhibit all filled by a certain date, she would send herself to an upcoming national conference. She hit the goal and took the trip! Diane, another client, has a thriving counseling service; is motivated by the satisfaction she gets from the work she does. All she needs to do is think about how much joy her work brings her and she finds it easy to do whatever is required to make sure she succeeds. Jeffrey, a sales trainer, knows that money is what motivates him. “The more money I can make, the better I produce,” he told us. A photographer, however, says that showing everyone what he can do is what keeps him going: “So many people told me that I shouldn’t do this – that I’d never make it. Now all I have to do is think about how much I want to prove they’re wrong, and I’ll do whatever it takes.” At times, people motivate themselves from an “I’ll prove I can do it” position. Here are some other insights people have had about how to motivate themselves: When things look bad, I get discouraged and don’t want to do anything much. I I’ve learned to tell myself the positive side of whatever’s happening. I point out why it’s not as bad as it looks and how it could even be better than I thought. Then I feel like working all the harder. When I’m under the pressure of a deadline, I get so much done; but without a deadline, I don’t think I’d get anything done at all. It’s got to be a real deadline. I can’t just make something up. So what I do is get myself into situations that involve deadlines. I ask myself what will happen if I don’t do this, and if it doesn’t look good, then I want to do it. I think about the kind of person I want to be, and if I’m not living up to who I aspire to be, that’s a real motivator. When I’m living up to my image of myself, I feel good and I do more of what it takes to do even better. Facts and figures are what motivate me. I track my progress as if I’m keeping a scorecard. And I watch what my competition is doing. I like to make sure I stay out in front. Knowing what de-motivates you is equally important. One software engineer, discovered, for example: “If I tell myself I have to do something, it’s like the kiss of death. I’ll do just about anything else. And boy, has that gotten me in trouble. Now if I don’t want to do something, I just tell myself I don’t have to do it. And usually, once I know I have the choice, I’ll go ahead and do it if it really does need to be done.” Kim dislikes doing billing for her publicity business. “It’s so time consuming,” she moans. “But I think of it as dumping the money out of my pockets and counting what will be coming back to me. That gets me through it.” To begin identifying what motivates and de-motivates you, pay attention to what you complain about, what you get excited about, what gets you down, and what picks you up. Then cater to yourself as you would to a prized client. Don’t sell yourself short and let yourself get away with less than you know you can do, but make it as easy as possible for yourself to excel. Ask yourself the following questions. Then listen to your responses and observe your behavior to see if it confirms your answers. There are no wrong answers to these questions. The idea is to learn what you respond to. Some people work best when they believe they are doing well. When we compare ourselves negatively with others, it leads us to start doubting ourselves. Some people start slacking off when they think they’re doing well. Of course, with some effort you can change motivation patterns that don’t work for you. What Motivates You?

1. What is most important to you about what you’re doing? What makes it worthwhile? What makes it a drag?
2. How could you make doing something you need to do worth the effort? What would make you eager to get it done?
3. Which spurs you to do better: compliments and positive feedback about what you’ve done well – or criticism of your performance and feedback on what you need to improve?
4. Are you more likely to strive to prevent negative things you fear might happen – or to work toward attaining a positive outcome?
5. Do you thrive on competition? Does the opportunity to do better than someone else spur you on – or intimidate you?
6. Are you more interested in improving your own performance – or achieving more than someone else?
7. Do you work better with the pressure of a deadline – or do deadlines make you clutch?
8. Do you work more efficiently when you wait until the last minute to meet your deadlines – or do you like to start early and finish ahead of time?
9. Do you like to begin with the most pleasant tasks – or do you prefer to get the worst over first and save the best for last?

For help in designing effective job search strategies that work, and living a more balanced life and career that is fully aligned with your passions and values, contact Winning Ways.