Motivation can be a fickle thing. It can come and go, and it can feel like nothing more than an emotion. While some people are naturally driven to achieve goals, others need to find ways to keep their motivation levels high. If this sounds like you, you’re in luck! There are many ways for anyone to increase their own motivation levels. Here are five ideas on how you can identify what keeps you motivated:
1. Reflect on Past Experiences
Reflecting on your past experiences is a good way to identify what has motivated you before. You may want to look back at previous jobs, projects, or hobbies that were successful and see if there are any commonalities between them.
Consider what has kept you motivated in the past, and how this can be applied to your current situation:
- What sort of environment did you work in?
- Was it competitive?
- Did your coworkers encourage you?
- Did they help you learn new skills?
- What could you do differently now so that you will be more likely to succeed at your goal(s)?
2. Identifying Your Strengths and Passions
Identifying your strengths and passions is a key step in figuring out what keeps you motivated. Your strengths are the skills and abilities that come naturally to you and that you enjoy using.
When you use your strengths, you feel confident and capable, which can be a huge motivator. Take some time to think about what tasks or activities come easily to you and bring you joy.
On the other hand, your passions are the activities, hobbies, or causes that you are deeply interested in and care about. When you engage in activities related to your passions, you feel fulfilled and energized, which can also be a huge motivator.
Identifying your strengths and passions can help you find work or hobbies that align with your natural talents and interests. By doing what you are naturally good at and what you care about, you can stay motivated and engaged in what you do.
It can also help you identify areas where you need to improve, which can provide a sense of purpose and drive to keep learning and growing.
3. Considering Your Personal Values
You can also use your values to help you identify the things that are important to you.
For example, if one of your personal values is to “be a good friend,” then it may be easier for you to stay motivated if someone asks how their friend is doing and what they’re working on. You might even find yourself more willing to help someone out with their project because it aligns with this value!
The key here is thinking about what motivates others–and how their motivations might affect yours.
4. Seeking Feedback from Others
Another way to identify what keeps you motivated is by seeking feedback from others. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most important thing is that you have someone who will give it to you straight.
You may want to ask friends and family members or even strangers on social media platforms like X and Facebook (just remember not everyone has an opinion worth listening to).
- Ask for honest feedback from people who know what motivates them. Your friends know what gets them excited about life, so they might be able to give some insight into what motivates YOU!
- Ask for honest feedback from people who don’t know much about your situation. Sometimes those closest to us are too afraid or unwilling to tell us when we’re doing something wrong because they don’t want their relationship with us damaged in any way.
However, if there is someone else involved whom we don’t know very well yet–such as another student at school or someone who works down at Starbucks–they may have no reason not to say whatever comes into mind when asked this question.
5. Trying New Things and Paying Attention to Your Reactions
Trying new things and paying attention to your reactions is another way to identify what keeps you motivated. When you step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, you can gain valuable insight into what activities or experiences energize and inspire you (and which ones don’t).
Pay attention to your emotional and physical reactions to different situations.
For example, do you feel excited and energized when you are exploring a new city or meeting new people? Do you feel fulfilled when you are volunteering for a cause you care about? Do you feel engaged and focused when you are solving a complex problem?
By observing your reactions to different experiences, you can start to identify patterns and gain a deeper understanding of what motivates you.
Trying new things can also help you discover new passions or interests that you may not have otherwise considered. By being open to new experiences and paying attention to your reactions, you can gain valuable insights into what keeps you motivated and engaged in life.
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