Is Your Motivation Running On Empty?

1. Connection
2. Creativity
3. Challenge

Connection

As human beings, we have an inherent need to connect with the world around us. Connection is one of the main human drivers and if you're not connected to your work, the environment in which you work, or to the desired outcome you're working toward - you will find motivation fleeting.

How can you tell? Stop and take a look around you. Do you see yourself and your work making a difference in the community? Do you relate to those whom you have employed and work with on a daily basis? If not, it may be time for a change. 

Another connection I see people have lost is the connection to their vision. When you started down the path of becoming and entrepreneur, you had a vision for your practice. Are you still connected to it? If not, sit down and reconnect to the vision. Why did you start on this journey? Find that spark inside you again as it relates to your practice. Remember that feeling of joy and drive you had when the idea of being a business owner was brand new. You remember that kid in the candy shop feeling don't you?

Creativity

Are you able to use your own unique creativity in your workplace? At home? In your community? We're often taught as kids to "be creative" or "use your imagination," but as adults being creative is considered childish. When did we become this weird dynamic of "adulting" with no time to honor our inner child?

You each have a unique creative side and when you use it, your motivation comes in full force. 

When and where do you feel the most creative? I guarantee it's not when your ass is planted firmly on the couch endlessly watching Netflix waiting for something magical to happen.

Put the phone down, go for a walk, listen to music, go to the gym and allow your mind to wonder into your space of creativity. When we block out the daily distractions or change our environment, we give our brain permission to imagine.

Listen to where it takes you. Write those things down and here's the key - ACT ON THEM.

Challenge

Kind of like paying a sport, you need to be challenged in order to compete. If the task is too challenging we often quit. If the task is too easy we quit. Think about it, if you're playing someone 1 on 1 in basketball and kicking their ass, is that fun for you? What if you're the one getting their ass kicked? Those 2 extremes often lead us to think we aren't good enough or we're better than we think we are and so we don't even try. 

But, being challenged in a way that makes you grow, work with a team, or create something new will often spark your motivation. We all have a desire to WIN. And when you're playing a game that's neck and neck, you unconsciously up level yourself in order to pull out the "W." You have a desire to learn more so that you can beat the competition, but the only way you can consistently win and stay ahead is to learn and innovate.

So I ask you, how are you challenging yourself to grow? What books have you read lately that would help you grow as a person or as a business owner? What course have you taken that would do the same? And by course, I don't mean the necessary CEU/CME stuff. Im talk about courses that challenge your thinking. Have you taken it upon yourself to learn something new that would motivate you? 

Sometimes learning something new isn't just work related.... it could be learning to work on cars or play a guitar or venture back into a sport that you used to love to play. Either way, you are challenging yourself to learn and grow. 

Putting it together

Our brains have a desire to do 2 things: thrive and survive. These are the 2 primitive functions are bodies are designed to do. If you are not feeding your brain things that allow it to be connected, creative, or challenged - you are leaving out the 3 C's of your brain's need to thrive. This will stunt your motivation and leave you feeling bored and stuck in the minutiae. 

Get out there and find your connection to the vision, your creative mindset, and challenge yourself to grow! You'll be surprised how quickly your motivation will push you to the next level of life and business.