(By Don Hunter)
This is an excellent question to ask yourself, especially now, at the start of 2008. Another year is stretching out before you, and in order to reach your goals, you need to know how you intend to get there.
Motivation can be a tricky thing. Many times, people don’t know what exactly it is that motivates them in the first place. That’s why a self-inventory is essential. Once you realize what motivates you and why you’re motivated, you can use that information to reach your full potential. This applies, of course, to both your personal life and your career.
Passion . . . and action
There are two facets of motivation that I’d like to explore with this article. The first involves passion, and the second involves action. They differ in the fact that passion is a broader term, used to describe things that you love to do in your life. Action, on the other hand, addresses catalysts that may be specific to certain situations.
Let’s examine passion first, because by its very nature, your passion motivates you. You can’t help it. Passion is a motivator, and by identifying what those passions are, you’re essentially identifying your motivation. Below are some questions that will help you define what you’re passionate about.
- What excites you?
- What gives you energy (as opposed to draining it from you?)
- What activities in your life do you enjoy the most?
- If you had six months left to live, what would you do with that time?
Passion goes hand-in-hand with your career. If you’re not doing something that you’re passionate about, more than likely, you’re not completely happy. You may be content, even satisfied, but happy? Not quite. Only by pursuing your passions can you experience total fulfillment in the workplace and in your career.
The second facet of motivation, action, pertains to the steps you take in order to achieve or attain something, either personally or professionally. The most important question to ask is this one: what spurs you to action? The answer to this question is as individual to the person as their passions are. What spurs one person to action won’t necessarily do the same for somebody else. Below are some examples of action-motivators.
- The drive to achieve
- The fear of failure
- The desire to be challenged
- Recognition
- Financial rewards
So there are passion-motivators and action-motivators, and both play a large role in determining what paths you take in your personal and professional life. The key is to understand that they often intertwine with one another and affect each other, ultimately molding the central motivating factors of your existence.
Happier in the long run
Now apply what you’ve learned about motivation, passion, and action to your current situation. Is it conducive to the motivating factors in your life? Does it provide avenues for you to pursue your passions and to take positive action along the way that you’ll find rewarding, both financially and intrinsically? If this is the case, I’d like to congratulate you, because for a great many people in this country, that is not the case. You are truly in the correct situation.
However, if you find that your current situation is incongruent with what motivates you, with what spurs you to action so that you can reach your full potential and achieve more than you thought possible, then perhaps a change is in order. Life is simply too short to spend it doing things you don’t want to do and to be in a situation you don’t want to be in. Whatever motivates you does so for a reason. Embrace your motivation and pursue your passions. You’ll be happier in the long run.
If you have any questions about this topic, please send me an email at brg@charterinternet.com. And if you’re currently engaged in a job search or are interested in advancing the scope of your career, be sure to send me your resume. I’d be happy to discuss your career goals and ambitions, including ways in which I can help you to achieve them. Any exchange of information, including resumes, will be kept in total confidence and handled in a discreet fashion.
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