Everyone is motivated differently, and that’s okay!
Questions about how people are motivated have been raised for ages. Is motivation internally driven, or externally/circumstantially driven? Are people born motivated, or can motivation be learned?
These questions prompted one Motivational Speaker, Tamara Lowe, to develop a system which helps people understand what makes them motivated! In her book, Get Motivated!, she details what she calls “Motivational DNA”.
Drives, Needs and Awards are what the “DNA” stands for. Every person, her research sets forth, is driven by either connection or production. Everyone’s “needs” can be assessed as either stability or variety. And we all like receiving our awards for achievement either internally (specific and more private) or externally (with everyone seeing!).
Now, be careful not to judge yourself as you see what your motivational DNA is! None of these are better or more ethical, or more “right” than any of the others! Also, please note that none of these are mutually exclusive! Just because a person may also enjoy public praise, does not mean that only public praise will work to motivate them! How you will know which DNA fits you the best is to ask yourself this question; “If I have stability, but do not have variety, will I be happy?” Or the equal opposite form of that question. Now do that with each of the DNA types.
For example, I would call my DNA “CVI”, for Connection, Variety, and Internal. But that doesn’t mean that if I’m feeling connected, I don’t produce anything! Ha! Far from it! Additionally, just because I must have variety in my work in order to keep my head in the game, that I wouldn’t appreciate a stable foundation! Relative to awards, having public recognition is nice, of course, but if recognition never comes in specific acknowledgment of how I’ve invested my energy over and above what’s required, directly and personally (Like the precious emails students send me of how what I’ve taught them has helped them! Wow! I can feed off that for a long time!), then Janeen has a tendency to become a sulky girl! Ha!
After you’ve discerned your motivational DNA, then I suggest that you ask yourself what you can do to get your motivational needs fulfilled. What can I do to improve my feeling of connectedness with the company (or relationship)? What can I do to improve my experience of variety in my life and business? How can I ask for my awards to be expressed personally and specifically?
Please realize that just because you know this information now, doesn’t mean your boss understands this! Take responsibility for it yourself, so you can make your own self become and stay motivated!
In addition to knowing your motivational DNA, I have noticed that there are three other components that cause a person to stay motivated.
- The pictures you have in your head about yourself! If the picture doesn’t currently serve you, change it!
- Your reason WHY you are doing what you are doing. Money isn’t a good motivator, so WHY do you want the money? Why are you choosing to do whatever it is that you are choosing to do?
- Taking at least one small action step, daily, to move your endeavor forward. This causes you to see advancement, and progress! It gives you evidence that you are “in the flow”!
When you apply each of these four aspects of motivation to all the facets of your life, you will find that you are powerful, loving, inspirational force for good in the world!
Love, love, love
“Dr.J”
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