Are you stuck? How understanding your motivation can help

Photo credit: Kathleen Landells

What is your motivation? And how does understanding your motivation help?

For each of us, our motivation is different. Understanding your motivation can assist you in all aspects of your life—work, relationships, and health.

It’s a funny thing starting your own business. No bosses. No deadlines. No supervisors. No program calendars. No weekly newsletter. No staff asking for help. You are 100% responsible for motivating yourself.

In the past week, I have been struggling to keep things moving. I have been questioning myself. I have been struggling with my PhD and questioning whether I should continue. In short, I have been driving myself crazy.

However, this has made me reflect on my motivation. What motivates me to keep striving? To keep going despite obstacles? And then, how can I use this understanding to keep moving in a new direction? To keep progressing despite obstacles?

A really important motivation for me is helping others. I need to work for something bigger than myself. I realised that I had been struggling because I felt a bit like I was shouting into the wind. Putting things out there and not getting anything back. I had also been procrastinating about a really important part of my business, but knowing that a friend needed it gave me motivation to begin.

How else could I use this motivation? For example, how could I carry out my work so that I am receiving more feedback from clients? I also realised that I could use my motivation to help others in a very practical way—I could imagine that I am writing each post for a specific client. I could also post about other people in a way that is helpful to them and their new businesses. This week, the photo accompanying this post is one taken by my mum. I was motivated to write the post to share her beautiful work.

Another motivator for me is achieving things and overcoming significant challenges to deliver things. I hate to give up on things. I hate to let myself down. How can I use this motivation? I can commit to writing a blog each week. I can set a deadline for launching my 8-week online program to help people find their niche. I can write an annual calendar of events. I can set small achievable goals to keep myself moving.

Learning motivates me. I love to learn about people. I love to learn about how people can work better. I love to learn about what motivates, energises and inspires people. How could I use this motivation? This morning I went to a presentation called ‘Clever Happenings’ by Dr Jason Fox. Learning ignites my brain. It crowds out the negative feelings and reminds me why I’m doing what I’m doing.

What are the things that motivate you? And how can you use this knowledge to help you keep moving in a new direction?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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