Just how badly do you want that proverbial carrot that’s dangling in front of you? Losing 20 pounds, being promoted to a job with more opportunity, moving to your dream house, taking that family vacation (debt free) – how hard are you willing to work for those rewards? And one more question: Do you want these “carrots” as a one-time accomplishment or as lasting change and a more rewarding lifestyle? What you want, what you’re willing to do to get it, and whether or not you can keep it comes down to how well you know 2 facts about your motivations.
Fact 1: You do nothing without being motivated to do it.
What’s the difference between those that see positive change through and those that abandon the path long before change happens?
And how is a one-time reward (like losing weight or upgrading your job) converted into a more routine return on hard work and focus?
The answers to both questions are centered on finding and keeping your motivation. Although your motivations can be tricky to zero in on, you must identify them. Otherwise, you cannot accomplish any of the things you set your heart on accomplishing. In fact, what we want and why we want it are key elements of our inner design that must be understood.
Without understanding the what’s and why’s of our desires, we’ll judge our dreams and motives as shallow, unrealistic or not good enough. Worse yet, we’ll let others serve as judge and jury. But the fact remains that we do not want or do anything without being motivated.
Your lasting motivation is positive, inborn, and directly connected to the inner design with which you’ve been created.
Last week, I invited you to take the InnerKinetics assessment and return to this blog with a 2-letter symbol for your inner design. So let’s see from where your motivation comes. It’s NOT from getting revved up by motivational speakers or really well-done marketing plans. It comes from deep within the core of drives and preferences you must understand.
ARE YOU AN “SP” LIKE SHAUNA?
Like all “SPs” of the world, Shauna’s drives motivate her to make an impact on the world around her. She does so through the mastery of skills and tools that provide immediate and wonderful returns for her family, friends, and colleagues. Shauna has no counterpart in this world because she is a unique expression of her “SP” design. She creates real solutions to real problems just at the right times. Whether it’s an inspiring performance amidst her fitness classes, once-in-a-lifetime experiences with her family while on vacation, or some actionable advice to a friend in need, Shauna’s motivations to inspire others and help them enjoy life are undeniable. She couldn’t turn off her zeal for life, her desire for action, nor her unmatched energy to try new things – even if she wanted to.
If she wants to accomplish anything (big or small), it starts with her intrinsic MOTIVATIONS to make the right impact on her world.
PERHAPS YOU’RE AN “SJ” LIKE LINDSAY . . .
There’s no one like Lindsay! But she does share a deep motivation (like all “SJs”) to be responsible, thoughtful and prepared. These desires motivate her beyond challenge or hardship to accomplish more in one day than most accomplish in a month! Lindsay’s motivation drives her to bring order to chaos, stability in unchartered waters, and a path forward to change that just needs to happen. Lindsay’s drive comes from the inside out to be excellent at building a sense of community. And she provides her community with as many of the building blocks she can so they can all make their lives better, healthier, and more rewarding.
Can you relate to Lindsay’s MOTIVATIONS to be a reliable, responsible, stabilizing person in her world? If yes, it’s because you are also an SJ. If no, it’s because, although these things sound good to you, your deepest and equally valuable motivations stem from possessing a different inner design.
CAN YOU RELATE TO THE “NT” MOTIVATIONS JOHN USES?
John’s motivations are born from an intense desire to find the absolute best way to accomplish important things. Finding new and more efficient ways to achieve anything is his passion and his specialty. From the fastest route to a nearby grocery store to building a state-of-the-art facility for his company with all the technological advancements a CEO and Board could ask for, John’s your man. His “NT” design reveals his intense curiosity and determination to set and meet goals that matter in his life and the lives of others around him. He finds new, better ways. If those can’t be found, he creates them.
John’s NT MOTIVATIONS are based on facts. But they’re never limited by a belief that something can’t be improved upon.
ARE YOU AN “NF” WITH MOTIVATIONS LIKE TIM?
Tim is motivated to create meaningful connections and healthy relationships of all kinds. That sounds like a pretty impossible task, but “impossible” sounds like “totally possible” to Tim. Can you relate to his motivation to make the world a more just and rewarding place? If you can, it’s likely that you’re also driven by an insatiable need to reach your highest potential, be authentic and real, and earn a place of significant influence with those you live among. And although the world would encourage you and Tim to be more realistic and place your feet a little closer to the ground, that just doesn’t seem appropriate.
An NF is MOTIVATED to become their very best. And it’s these motivations they must tap into if they are to accomplish anything in their lives that they’d consider meaningful. Everything needs to have meaning for an NF. So no matter how big or small the “carrot” is, it cannot be accomplished or sustained without connection to an NF’s motivations for becoming better and/or creating more meaning in life.
Fact 2: Lasting motivation comes from your beliefs.
…and the emotional payback of acting on those beliefs. If your motivation stems from drives and preferences of your inner design, it makes sense that you must understand all you can about this design. BUT, even more importantly, you must align your motivations with powerful beliefs.
How is motivation sustained? How do you go from losing 20 pounds to a lifestyle that keeps that weight off? What’s the real difference between getting a job with more opportunity and actually taking advantage of that opportunity?
What you want, what you’re willing to do to get it, and whether or not you can keep it requires you to go beyond understanding. Therefore, you must align your beliefs with these inherent, design-driven motivations. When you BELIEVE that your motivations are really “OK” to act on – when they feel like something you’re born to act on, you experience the emotional payback that keeps you coming back for more
- Do you want a motivation that lasts? Choose to believe in the purpose behind your inner design.
- Can you imagine a life where you believe you’re doing little things every day that you were born to do? Choose to find the payback from acting on the motivations you naturally possess.
- Want real change that is sustainable? Believe that what you bring to the table is valuable and worth a great deal to the world around you.
Let’s keep going! More on how to align your motivations and beliefs next week.
Want more on shifting motivation from temporary to sustainable?
- Make sure you use your InnerKinetics (a.k.a. inner design).
- Discover the motivations your inner design naturally possesses to make you successful. INNERKINETICS – Your Blueprint to Excellence and Happiness