The Dream Dean

What drives your life?  What truly motivates you?  What fuels your fire?  What matters most to you?  What gets you energized and excited?

The Personal Motivators activity will have you identify things that motivate you towards engagement, empowerment, and fulfillment in your work and in your life.  Whereas values are more global, motivators are more specific and direct, focusing on the here and now. I created this activity because I had a student share with me a couple of years ago that it didn’t matter what we did in class because she was in school to become a nurse – and nothing else. (Side note: Her love was writing.) Sadly, she wasn’t very good in the sciences and ended up leaving UNCG after her second semester because of poor grades. I’ve always wondered what she ended up doing with her life…

One thing to realize about your Motivators – they will most likely change as your life changes.  What motivates you now was most likely different 10-15 years ago – and will most likely be different 10-15 years from now.

For this activity, you will need to choose BETWEEN FIVE (5) AND SEVEN (7) Personal Motivators that drive your actions and decisions RIGHT NOW on a daily basis.  As you decide on your choices, consider whether they are:

• Internal motivators – deciding to do something because you’re interested in it and enjoy doing it; your reasons come from within you and are not driven by other people or by an end result or outcome. or
• External motivators – deciding to do something because you are told you have to do it by someone else; doing something because of outside factors, such as needing to achieve a goal, wanting to get a reward, or seeking to avoid a disadvantage.

There are no right or wrong answers; it’s definitely acceptable to have a combination of both types of motivation. But research has shown that people primarily driven by internal motivators are more likely to be successful in life than those primarily driven by external motivators.

As you review the list below, if there’s something that motivates you but is not listed, make sure to add that to your list.  Your results from this activity will help shape what you do, how you live, and the choices you make – now and in the future.

(Note: Internal and external definitions from the web site: “Different types of motivation” – https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/explore-elt/0/steps/15701)