What Motivates You? – (How to Get to the Life You Want)
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Here’s to motivation!
So the question of for today is…
What Motivates You In Life?
Hello Ladies.
While I know you’re the stuff of heroes (or heroines?) and you’re highly motivated to fight the challenges you’re facing, I really want to know what motivates you.
Motivation, the force that drives us forward; something that enables us to rise and shine each and every day; something that defines our goals and makes us focus them, has long fascinated me.
All of us are driven by motivators or drivers of some sort – from creativity to learning, to family and fun, to challenge and problem solving.
And while each and every person is as unique as a snowflake, we all do share fundamental drivers.
However, the nuances in a person’s specific nature depend on which of these specific motivators are most important to you.
As an example, let’s relate it to the way DNA shapes each person.
Each and every one of the billions of DNA strands on Earth contain the same basic building blocks, but what sets each one of us apart as a distinct human being is the way our genes are sequenced.
People who grew up in the same household, those having the same educational degree, or people in the same profession will have different drivers in life.
The more we live in alignment with our motivators, the happier and more fulfilled we’ll naturally be.
We differ enormously in what makes us happy in life.
For some of us success in our chosen profession or a sense of accomplishment in establishing and growing a family are our greatest sources of happiness, but for others competition, winning or being successful social “up and comers” is more satisfying.
To put it succinctly, what motivates me will probably not be quite the same thing that motivates you.
“One of the strongest characteristics of genius is the power of lighting its own fire.” – John W Foster
So what is it that motivates you to succeed in life?
What Motivates Us to Succeed in Life?
As humans, most of us are driven by one or a combination of the following:
- Ambition
- Independence – To feel in charge of your own life
- A desire to be the best
- Helping others
- Recognition
- Passion
- Making a difference
- Love
- Winning and competition
- Money and rewards
- Status/Power/Prestige/Fame
In an age where materialistic things are so much the focus, some of us may be driven solely by desires based on getting or having material things, while others of us are much more influenced by our values, sense of or desire to do good and moral upbringing.
Or, we may have a bit of both elements (material and non-materially based desires) to motivate us and manifest our goals into reality.
Regardless of what motivates us to take action, when we’re motivated we all have an intrinsic desire to achieve what we’ve defined for ourselves as “being our best”.
That intrinsic desire is what makes us strive for improvement in our personal or professional life.
For example, if we have made a decision to lose weight, each day we’re accompanied by a level of consciousness to make the best choices in what we eat, what we drink, the kind of exercise we do, and the amount of sleep we get.
In other words, we reset our mind to choose the option of the highest possible level to achieve our personal best.
But are we achieving our personal best?
With women especially, we face issues stemming from feelings of not being valued and heard that causes us to be unmotivated (and discouraged) and emotionally disengaged. In some cases, due to these and other factors, we may not feel good about our lives. We may instead feel .…
- That we’ve lost our creativity, enthusiasm and joy for life
- That we’ve mentally and emotionally “lost our edge”
- That our excitement for life has gone
- That we’re unproductive and unfulfilled
- That we’re immersed in under-achievement
- That there’s more to us than anyone ever sees
- That we’re weighed down and on the verge of giving up
- That we’re tired and have had enough
- That we’re fed up with the routine of a “ho-hum” existence and want to start living a more exciting life
- That question more we can do with our life?
Find Your Path by Discovering What Motivates You
The truth is the “down” moments of life may have so strained your emotions and depleted your motivational supply and reserve that you’re left feeling empty and drained.
But the fact is that in addition to being a burden on your vitality, the down times have made you wiser and stronger.
Those down moments are also an indication that you need to set (or reset) your priorities from scratch, that you need to remember or redefine your goals, and that you need to value your needs too.
They indicate that it’s time for you to evaluate who and what is consuming your time and energy, and determine whether these people and situations are helping and promoting your best interests.
Are they really your responsibilities or not, and how can you take responsibility of your own life?
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
Things to do:
- Find meaning in what you do.
- Determine what drives you to keep going.
- Identify what matters most to you in your daily struggle to achieve, and why.
- Identify your strengths
Do it the fun way – solve a ‘what motivates you quiz’
“If we do not learn to motivate ourselves, the external motivation that we receive is useless.” – Bernardo Stamateas
Boost Your Motivation
- Make sure to get up quickly from pain.
- Don’t allow your dreams to remain fictional. Visualize them to propel yourself towards achieving them.
- Continuously improve.
- Instead of being a slave to your routine try something new every day.
“The secret of personal motivation can be summed up in four Cs: curiosity, confidence, courage and certainty.” -Walt Disney
Wrapping Up:
To achieve remarkable success in life, we must find out what motivates us in life.
Once we discover that, we must pursue it with the utmost tenacity and determination.
“Motivation is like bathing, you have to do it every day.” – Zig Ziglar –
Determining what motivates you is key.
Remember, having and enjoying the life you envision is largely up to you.
You are your own best champion.
Nobody else cares more or is in a position to do better on your behalf than you.
Stop waiting for your knight. Be your own best warrior!
Love and Peace!
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Kimberly Clay is the founder and creative force behind What She Say. She’s a business professional, writer and editor who’s been creating and managing digital content for nearly twenty years. Her work is now focused in the areas of self-improvement and personal development, and she is passionate about helping other individuals, especially women, to find a path for living their best life.
