HOW DO YOU STAY MOTIVATED?
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“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” -Wayne Dyer
How do you stay motivated?
Motivation has been the topic of many business and leadership conversations. Motivation drives what we do and how we do it. So what motivates you? And better yet, what is your motivation driving you to do?
Fortune’s senior editor at large Geoff Colvin speaks about motivation in his book Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. Colvin explains how interesting the topic of motivation is especially when it comes to business and leadership. So much that, “The all-time number 2 best-selling reprint from the Harvard Business Review is a 1968 article on motivation.”
I had the opportunity to speak to some brilliant students at Lipscomb University. I had a great time speaking, but the best part of my speaking engagement was talking with these students and hearing their remarkable stories.
I discussed motivation in my talk and during our question and answering session someone asked a great question. A question that I am going to ask you - How do you stay motivated?
The Foundation of Motivation
I have to preference my next few statements by saying I am not a Bible Scholar. However, I do believe that motivation starts with a greater power.
My motivation starts with the Lord. I believe the words from Proverbs 1:7 when it says, “The respect of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge…”
What Drives Motivation?
In the same book aforementioned by Geoff Colvin, he discusses the extensive research on motivation by Baker Foundation Professor and Director of Research for the Harvard Business School Teresa Amabile. Colvin documents Amabile first proposed simple hypothesis on motivation: “The intrinsically motivated state is conducive to creativity, whereas the extrinsically motivated state is detrimental.”
Hearing of Amabile first proposal on motivation, I believe we all would think that it is quite reasonable to believe this. But after further research, Amabile revised her hypothesis to say the following: “Intrinsic motivation is still best, and extrinsic motivation that’s controlling is still detrimental to creativity, but extrinsic motivators that reinforce intrinsic drives can be highly effective.”
In other words, we can use just about anything to be motivation from good to less favorable conditions and people. But to answer the question - how do you stay motivated?
How to Stay Motivated
There have been many research studies to study motivation, but how you stay motivated. We may be able to get motivated when things are going well, but as leaders how do we consistently motivate our team and ourselves. This can be a more difficult task. Here are 4 ways to stay motivated.
1. Remember your power.
2. Remember your passion.
3. Remember your priorities.
4. Push to progress.
Everyone wants great things out of life. But just remember these 4 ways to stay motivated and you will not only consistently motivate yourself, but you will slow motivate other around you.
How are you currently staying motivated? Please leave a comment below, send me a tweet on Twitter, or leave a comment on Facebook.
Bryant
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