What Motivates You?

Many personal development books and sites focus on getting motivated. It is an admirable goal, but I often wonder if this topic needs more focus. After all what motivates one person can have the opposite effect on someone else. For example, some people respond well to a tough, straight talking approach whereas others need the more gentle influence.

Find your style

Do you get motivated by an exciting goal or does a bad situation in the present help you to get your skates on? Knowing the way that you respond to situations, will give you more power. Of course even if you respond better to goal setting doesn’t mean you can’t get motivated by a negative situation. However knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you refine your approach.

If you are not sure what motivates you, ask someone close to you for some feedback. Ask how they see you and how you respond to situations and what motivates you. Other people can sometimes see us better than we can see ourselves.

Play to your strengths

Once you have clarified how you tick, you can use this knowledge when planning your goals. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. If you find it hard to stay motivated over time, recruit a buddy and tell others what you are up to hold you to account.

Take action

At the end of the day, motivation is all about getting moving to take action. Once you have found what motivates you, no excuses!

Tagged as: personal development books