Motivational Seeker

I love reading social media profiles.  Elevator speech? That’s nothing. The ability to describe yourself in only a few words is truly a gift. And to pare yourself down to simply a hobby, career, likes, dislikes, or “dad to 3 girls”…the choice of words is fascinating to me.  

I recently spotted this one on LinkedIn:  “Motivational Seaker.”  I was immediately embarrassed for the person who placed that unfortunate error at the top of his page that went on to extol the virtues of his skill as a motivational speaker.  (I may or may not have also experienced the horror of returning to my own LinkedIn page after a few months and finding a typo.)

But as is our habit in a digital world, I scrolled on to the next distraction. Throughout the day, though, I kept thinking about that “motivational seaker.” When read out loud—as you may have already done—it doesn’t seem so terrible after all.

Motivation is the reason we act or behave in a certain way in order to meet a specific need. We’re motivated by the potential outcome of that action or behavior. 

Simply put: if I do x , y  will (or may) happen. 

If I exercise, I’ll be healthier. If I make a difficult phone call, I can complete this work task. If I take chicken soup to a sick friend, she might feel better sooner.

Motivation helps spark movement toward big and small change in our lives. Intrinsic motivators (such as a sense of purpose or satisfaction for a job well done) come from within and are based on our personal values. Extrinsic motivators are external rewards, such as praise from the boss or a larger paycheck. I’m not knocking either one. 

But even when the outcome is desirable, at times I still struggle to do the thing I should do. I need that extra nudge to move forward, which sometimes comes in the form of guilt or obligation and sometimes in the form of pleasure or reward. 

While research shows intrinsic motivators are a deeper well we can draw from in the long term (again, these are based on our personal values), we often focus more on the extrinsic ones. 

But only at first. When a need is met, motivation related to that need can decrease. 

For example, if I desperately need to feed my family, the external reward of a paycheck is highly motivational. I might put up with a terrible job to make sure I continue to receive the paycheck. Eventually, though, once my bills are paid up and I’m financially stable, I might let myself get bored or find fault with the job and start to look elsewhere. I won’t go into more detail here, but this can be explained by my favorite theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, SimplyPsychology.org

All bets are off if you can't get past the physiological needs, but that's a post for another day. 

Consider this (assuming basic human needs are met): have you been in a job where the thrill of the paycheck waned because the role ended up not being a good fit for you? Or have you thought, “I’m glad the boss likes my work, but *I* don’t like my work”? These feelings and external motivators arm wrestle to decide if you should stay or go (in other words, if change should happen).

Think about the big things you do: work a job, enjoy a hobby, volunteer in the community. And then the little things: bathe, eat, check in on a neighbor. Why do you do them? (Or, why don’t you do them?)

We're all operating with a different set of needs and motivations. Understanding this helps us understand our coworkers, family, strangers in the checkout line, and ourselves. What motivates you? Has it changed as you’ve gotten older? What kinds of motivation are you seeking today?

I do appreciate a “way to go” here and there, but not as much as I need to feel a sense of purpose and to enjoy my work. I’ll be thinking more about it this week as I triple-check my page for typos.

Thanks for reading. See you soon.