Why Bother With Motivation At Work?
Often when we talk about success and motivation, the main suggestion is that you start your own business and make your fortune that way. For many people, starting a business isn’t practical, so we should always consider motivation at work for people who don’t plan on starting a business.
The first and most important point is that motivation at work isn’t something that you should be waiting for or expecting that it will be provided by other people. Self motivation is the only effective long term plan because after a while it just comes naturally.
So how do we get to that level of self motivation where we just become a naturally motivated person and more importantly, how do we apply that to our level of motivation at work?
Motivation At Work – Be Satisfied
The first step is to be happy with what you already have and where you already are. If you aren’t able to be happy with what you already have then you’ll probably never be happy, because you will always be chasing something more. Think about the study and hard work it took to get to where you are now. It’s an achievement in itself just to be working – there are millions of people who are out of work. Be happy with the fact that you are working and proud of your achievements in life so far.
Motivation At Work Is About Feeling Good
The next step is to think about what it is that makes you feel good. Yes, it really is that simple and basic. The things that motivate us most, not surprisingly, also make us feel good. It may be that extra sale or the fact that you achieved that little bit more than your co-worker. I remember when I was working in a factory that made metal pressings. One of the jobs I worked on could make 500,000 parts in an 8 hour shift – but if you really put the pedal to the metal you could make 600,000. We used to have an unofficial competition between the day shift and the night shift. That’s one way of experiencing motivation at work.
You should aim to be productive as you can each and every day – not because of the extra money good productivity makes, but because you will go home every night feeling great and knowing that you did the absolute best that you could.
I know it sounds like some sort of corporate ‘mantra’ but the truth is that by putting in as much as you can you will feel really good about yourself and you will be the first in line if an opportunity for advancement arises.
Feeling good about yourself is the first step in creating your own self motivated ‘culture’ and carrying that motivation through to your motivation at work.
