A motivator is defined as something that provides a reason or stimulus to do something.
There are two types of motivators: pull motivators and push motivators.
Pull motivators: something you want to work toward (this is your goal: what you want). Think of these motivators pulling you toward a specific goal.
Push motivators: something you want to avoid (this is what you don’t want). Think of these motivators pushing you away from a specific outcome.
For me, a pull motivator is to have total body control, because I want to…
- Build confidence & self-reliance
- Build discipline
- Practice will power
- Work on my mental toughness
Also for me, a push motivator is losing my edge (aka advantage), because I don’t want to…
- Lose sight of my goals
- Fall behind on my craft
- Become unhealthy and unfit
- Blend in with everyone else
Defining Our Motivators
When we define our motivators, we have a clear and concise guide to work off of.
We’ll know exactly what is pulling us, and what is pushing us to achieve a specific goal.
When we fall off track (it happens!), or need some inspiration to get rolling again, reflecting back on our motivators can give us the jump start we need.
However, it all begins with answering four simple questions…
- What do you want?
- Why?
- What don’t you want?
- Why?
What If My Motivators Don’t Add Up?
Sometimes what we want and what we don’t want… don’t align.
Stay with me here…
Say you want to want to improve your relationship with a significant other (pull).
Yet don’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation (push).
It would be pretty tough to make those two work together, right?
I mean, we can all agree that improving a relationship is going to take some hard, uncomfortable conversations at times to get on the same page.
So with this conflict of motivators in mind, our next step is to rescript our motivators: see our blog post here on reworking motivators, aka values.
Motivators as an Advantage
Once you define, and possibly rework your motivators, you are equipped with more armor than the average person.
- You know what you want and why.
- You know what you don’t want and why.
- You’ve developed a purpose: your daily objective.
- You are able to react better in difficult situations.
- You have the tools to adjust your decision making.
- You have better insight on your thought process.
Happy soul searching (-:
x Corie
