What drives you?

Really, what is it?  Meaningful work, money, praise, people, relationships?

Real motivation is honest motivation.  Honest motivation is the right motivation.  We have to be really honest with ourselves to be really motivated.  Am I beating a dead horse here or what?  I mean “motivation” does mean…’a reason to take action’.  A real personal reason.

If you’re trying to start exercising, have a relationship, start a project, build a business, but your real motivation isattention and validation from friends, family, etc., you’re going to take a wrong turn.

Dan Pink, author of ‘Drive’, explains that real, self-directed motivation is based on three things — Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

When we’re motivated, we achieve all of these things.

Lack of Motivation Isn’t Normal

Some people think that a lack of motivation is normal. It isn’t. If you don’t believe this, just pay attention to the conversations around you for the next few days.  Chances are, you will at least once hear someone argue for their laziness, and/ or limitations—i.e. excuses for what they aren’t doing.

Address your lack of motivation immediately when it starts to weaken. Something is wrong with the way you’re thinking about your work.

Maybe you don’t feel a sense of autonomy any more. Or that you’re not growing. Or you feel your work no longer has purpose.

Let it diminish and your weakening motivation will strip your confidence until you forget why you ever wanted to do what you were doing in the first place.

Fixing Motivation That’s Starting to Slip

Start with those three factors:

1. Give Yourself More Autonomy

When you’re able to have a say over what you do, how you do it, and when you do it, your work becomes an undertaking you can engage in with creativity and a greater sense of ease.

This means you may need to make room to work on your own projects, rather than spending all your time on other people’s demands. Or it may just mean you need to be more conscious of what kind of outcome you’re looking to attract.

2. Increase Your Sense of Mastery

If you’re able to increase your skills and capability as a result of what you do, then you’re really on the right track. You get something done and you get better in the process.

Work on your craft. Get passionate about the fine points of whatever you do. Push yourself to get better every day.

3. Expand Your Sense of Purpose

If what you are doing means something and is important to you, it feels right.  It will feel like you’re making a real contribution.

Know that what you do is important. Know how it benefits others. Take action on things which support your values, rather than conflicting with them.

However. . . Motivation Isn’t Everything

The message of drive and passion is everywhere.  Although the feeling of drive and passion is great,  sometimes it falls short with insight as to why passion and motivation aren’t enough.

No amount of motivation can be enough without a supporting belief.

When I was a kid, I noticed that my tropical fish I was raising would easily adapt to the size of the tank they were in.  Unfortunately, sometimes people create the size of their lives as if it were a limited sized fish tank.  We may shape our life and adapt to the barriers we’ve set. We are only constrained by our own perspective.

Are You Willing to Swim?

You could have all the motivation in the world, but if you have a belief that says you “can’t” or that you’re “not good enough,” “I don’t have the time”, “I have kids”, “My wife/ husband/ boyfriend/girlfriend/ dog (you get the idea) won’t let me”…blah, blah, blah…yada, yada, yada.  Guess what?  If you really wanted to do it, you’d do it.

Only You can stop your motivation, or turn it into one hell of a struggle.

Sometimes beliefs about your abilities to build a meaningful life act like the circuit-breaker in your home, shutting down the power when there’s a perceived risk.  Y’know things aren’t always what they seem to be.

You don’t need protecting. Those beliefs that limit you and keep you “safe” in your comfort zone aren’t necessary.

We all have the elements of the Universe in us to grow and survive.

Here’s what it boils down to:

You Are Bigger Than Any Challenge

Your capability (capacity and ability combined) is bigger than any problem life can throw at you.

You are designed to take on meaningful challenges and learn what’s necessary to achieve your dreams.

Transform and expand the boundaries of your beliefs so you allow your motivation to flow where it needs to be.

Build a life with no boundaries and you will have an ocean for your motivation to swim in.