Much has been written about motivation, and experts agree that effective motivation is ultimately self-motivation. We are motivated to either avoid a pain or pursue a pleasure. Motivation can either be negative in the short term (e.g., the fear of losing a job, loss of income, disappointment, etc.) or positive in the long-term with the aim of achieving a goal that’s been set. Self-sustaining motivation has to be internal and long-term which is exhibited in the goals and plans you set for yourself.
People who perceive themselves in control of their own fate are, in fact, self-motivated. They are more likely to feel in control when stressors affect them. Instead of blaming external sources, they use motivation to look for a solution to deal with the problem. This positive behavior helps in achieving goals and finding personal contentment and professional success.
Motivation in its simplest form is the ability to imagine the future and to plan the action required to achieve it. It allows you to put a plan into action, helps prepare you to pay full price every day and tracks your progress towards the goal. In Winning Conversations: Mastering the Art of Business Development, we discuss the Motivation Formula: Motivation = D (Dissatisfaction in your present state) + A (Awareness of the desired result, expectation or vision you have for yourself) + K (Knowledge of a plan on how to get there). One of the key components in mastering the Business Development process is successful Goal Setting and Planning. These critical components provide self-motivation, which is necessary to sustain ourselves through challenges and to force us to be decision makers.
The mistake often made is to look outside of ourselves for goal setting: “What goal should I aim for?” This approach does not work. True motivation cannot be faked or found externally. It is only when our goals come from the core of our being that are we fully involved in achieving them.