5 Types of Motivators

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Summary

5 different modes of behavior that will lead to motivation.  Let’s be clear, these may not all resonate with you.  Different people have different triggers that motivate them so keep in mind that there is no one answer to this complicated question of what motivates people.  all of these are intrinsic motivators as they come from within us.  We have the ability to pull any of these into our lives whenever we want.  So, I challenge you to pick one of two of these and do the work to find what challenge, fantasy or curiosity excites you and has you planning out in your head what the next steps are. However, you will be able to go through these and know very quickly which ones speak to you and use those for your go to motivator boosters.

#1 – Recognition – This is very simple in that everyone loves to be recognized and appreciated for the things that they do.

#2 The next one that comes to mind is the Challenge Motivator – This is one that can be the developer of great habits to maintain the motivation.  We know that to achieve high goals it is imperative to do our best work.  We have to operate at a highly efficient, productive rate while eliminating distractions.  The challenge keeps us going though…the completion of the goal is the motivator.

#3 curiosity…how motivated is the dog that has buried his bone in the back yard and then lost it.  He will tear around the yard creating minefields in his wake and this stems from the curiosity of where he left that bone…it may also pair with the intrinsic reward subcategory if he is successful in finding the treasure.

#4 Fantasy is the next one…now bring it back and focus here.  Fantasy can construe a whole bunch of things in your mind…hence the word fantasy.  However, this can be a great way to stimulate your motivation.  Our brain is the most powerful thing we have to work with so using it to showcase images of things, people or places that are exciting to us can be an amazing way to motivate one to do whatever it is they need to do.

#5 Control can be an extraordinarily strong influencer if we are attached to controlling an outcome.  To get to the desired outcome, we know that decisions have to be made or the outcome can get thrown off track.  So, our motivation can be increased knowing that we need to continue to push forward, lead those around us and make sure that we have the knowledge needed to make the big decisions to get us to the outcome that we are wanting.

Full Transcript

If you have been checking in on us the past few weeks you will see the theme of motivation is on our minds.  Now you might think that it has to do with January kicking off a few days ago…but honestly that was truly coincidence.  We just really thought with all of the challenges that people have had the past 10 months that focusing on motivation might be a good thing.

I am sure that you are experiencing the same things that we are on this end and feeling the frustrations that people are going through whether it be from COVID or from political heat regardless of who you believe or what you follow.  It can be so easy to get pulled into the doom and gloom of things going on around us.  Things that honestly, we have very little influence over.  Obviously, we need to do what is right to protect ourselves, our families and those that surround us…but that is about the best we can do.

So, with all of that top of mind do you think that motivation may have taken a downturn the past few months…yeah for sure.  In fact that may be one of the larger understatements made recently.  

What I wanted to do today is discuss different ways that we become motivated. Things that you can do or add into your life to keep you excited about each day.  We know that with motivation for the day, that is when we are able to accomplish our largest needle movers that advance us towards our goals.  Without motivation there is no forward movement, in fact you will likely be moving backwards.  Not only does your motivation keep you inspired it presents you as that role-model that we all hope to be to others.  Motivation is contagious.  Think about a time when you were introduced to an idea that sounded like amazing fun…maybe it was a vacation to somewhere warm, exotic and with little umbrellas in their drinks.  But…in order to get there the team had to hit a particular goal.  This is an example of reward-based motivation.  You got excited because someone else presented something that was super appealing to you and therefore you were in turn motivated to reach the goal…and receive the prize.

We have previously looked at types of motivation or categories if you prefer, such as intrinsic, extrinsic as the major players with the subcategories of fear based, reward based etc.  Now let's look at some factors to help reengage that motivation that maybe has not been showing up as it should each day.  We are going to focus on intrinsic because these are the ones that you have the control over.  They are the ones that fuel that spark and make you invincible.  These are also the motivators that force new habits into your life so that you can sustain the motivation and the mojo to do great things and be that amazing person that is inside you.

So, we are going to touch on 5 different modes of behavior that will lead to motivation.  Let’s be clear, these may not all resonate with you.  Different people have different triggers that motivate them so keep in mind that there is no one answer to this complicated question of what motivates people.  However, you will be able to go through these and know very quickly which ones speak to you and use those for your go to motivator boosters.

#1 – Recognition – This is very simple in that everyone loves to be recognized and appreciated for the things that they do.  You would not think that this is a motivator but depending upon an individual’s personality, this may be a huge factor in gaining motivation.  If you think of the people in your life that you might think of as “people pleasers” this might be a way that they find great motivation in their work or their daily tasks.  They just want to be thanked and made to feel appreciated for the effort that they put forth.  I get reminded of this often with young children, when they get old enough to “help” a little with chores around the home.  Often the help is not really all that helpful, but we engage them in the activity so they can feel like a big person.  Have you noticed how excited that young person gets when we take the time to thank them and tell them how great that they did?  This makes them want to help with the next project…in fact usually the next words out of their mouth is “what can we do next”?  This is the perfect example of a recognition motivator.  With the right words or actions from the king or queen of the project comes an even more elevated level of motivation to do it again.

The next one that comes to mind is the Challenge Motivator – This is one that can be the developer of great habits to maintain the motivation.  We know that to achieve high goals it is imperative to do our best work.  We have to operate at a highly efficient, productive rate while eliminating distractions.  The challenge keeps us going though…the completion of the goal is the motivator.  But again, we may need to put some important tools or systems in place to sustain the motivation.  An example of a challenge might be a sporting event that leads to a big game or match.  The work on the front end is excruciating, but the feeling of victory if you succeed is worth the journey on the front end.  That thought of winning, or exceeding a past record is more than enough to get you to practice everyday.  It could also be designing a new product or system at work that is something you have never done before.  It is truly a challenge that will stretch you, but the thought of accomplishing this great feat motivates you to prioritize your day to allow time to chip away at this challenge.

I love the next one as this can be me.  As I have told you previously, I can be an education junkie.  So the motivator of curiosity is great for me.  When you discover something new that you want to learn and you get great pleasure out of it, that is the curiosity motivator kicking in.  Ty

Fantasy is the next one…now bring it back and focus here.  Fantasy can construe a whole bunch of things in your mind…hence the word fantasy.  However, this can be a great way to stimulate your motivation.  Our brain is the most powerful thing we have to work with so using it to showcase images of things, people or places that are exciting to us can be an amazing way to motivate one to do whatever it is they need to do.   Let’s go to the family who is separated because one spouse is home with the kids and the other is let's just say military, who has been deployed for 6 months.  He or she is due home in 2 weeks and you have visualized the most amazing coming home party.  All your friends and family will be there.  The food and drinks will be amazing.  There will be jump houses for the kids and some crazy adults.  There will be live music and dancing.  But you have to pull all of this together while working, raising kids and Lord knows what else.  Will you ever get it done and have the event that you have visualized?  Without a doubt, I would bet money on it, because your motivation is so high to make this the most amazing event ever.

The last form that we are going to look at today is control.  Control can be a very strong influencer if we are very attached to controlling an outcome.  In order to get to the desired outcome we know that decisions have to be made or the outcome can get thrown off track.  So our motivation can be increased knowing that we need to continue to push forward, lead those around us and make sure that we have the knowledge needed to make the big decisions to get us to the outcome that we are wanting.

As you can see all of these are intrinsic motivators as they come from within us.  We have the ability to pull any of these into our lives whenever we want.  So I challenge you to pick one of two of these and do the work to find what challenge, fantasy or curiosity excites you and has you planning out in your head what the next steps are.  If you find yourself grabbing your journal or a piece of toilet paper in a pinch and making lists of what you need to do next, then you have likely found a good goal that will motivate you.  Go with it, share it with others…this is what we all need every day.  Bigger goals and dreams and that will motivate us to live a big life.

I hope this has helped inspire you to go to the next level.  We would love it if you would share this post with 5 friends, like it and of course as always comments and questions go below.

Have an amazing day and remember the choice is always yours to Focus Forward.