Have you ever really thought about what motivates you to do a good job either at school, at work, or within your own business?
Is your first answer money? Of course we all know that money is required if we want to be able to buy groceries, pay our mortgage or rent, and have viable transportation.
But I wonder if there isn’t more to it than money?
For example would you be upset if you were promoted to the job that you had always dreamed of but didn’t receive a raise in pay?
Besides money what else motivates you to be the best that you can be?
Recognition
Is it important to you to receive an excellent annual review from your employer? Or to simply receive an email that says “job well done”.
If your company had an employee of the month program would you be doing everything you could to win that title?
When you complete a project for a customer or a co-worker do you get upset or feel insulted if they don’t say thank you?
Sense of Accomplishment
Do the final results and sense of accomplishment motivate you to do your best work on a project?
Are you the type of person that goes that extra mile on a project or assignment because you love that feeling of knowing that you did your very best work?
Your Goals
Are you motivated based on your goals or your 5 year plan?
Do you need to be making a certain amount of money by a certain point in your life?
Or, if still in school, are you motivated to do your best because one of your goals is to get the highest grades possible?
Competition
Some people are very competitive in sports and in life in general.
Do you constantly compare yourself to others and look for ways to be better than they are?
Do you find that you do your best because you love a good challenge and you feel good about yourself when you win the race or win the game?
Or do you play sports just because you enjoy it and want to have fun?
Deadlines
Many people view deadlines as pressure and they do not do their best work under pressure.
Others only do their best work when the know they have a tight deadline to meet.
How about you? When you are given a new project with a deadline of 2 weeks are you the type of person that begins the project right away, or do you wait until the night before to work on it?
Of course the list above does not capture all the different motivating factors in our lives.
The things that motivate each one of us are different based on our up-bringing, experiences and our personality. What motivates you to do your very best?
