What Will Keep You Going? This Is The Secret to Motivation
- Wanda Wallace
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
By Wanda Wallace
What would it take for you to be truly motivated at work, especially during stressful times?
As much as pay and promotion matter, they are not sufficient to keep you going beyond the glow of the first weeks and through the hardest parts of the quarter or year. Research shows that past a certain point of stability and having your needs met, pay, title and other extrinsic factors are not good motivators that will sustain you over the long term (unless you’re being paid to do a very boring, menial task like moving bricks from one place to another).
So, what is really at the heart of motivation?
The secret lies in intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means you do something because you enjoy doing it, because it is satisfying to you, because it is aligned with the things that matter to you. In other words, your intrinsic motivation is fueled by what many self-help books elusively call your purpose or sense of meaning.
What drives and fuels us is different from person to person, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer. In order for you to be sustainably motivated, you need to understand and focus on the intrinsic motivators that you personally care about the most.
Identifying Your Drivers and Values
We believe that intrinsic motivation emerges from some sense of autonomy, connection, purpose, competence and personal values. While there are many frameworks for identifying your personal intrinsic motivators, I prefer a combination of categories from multiple sources (Hogan Motives Value and Preferences Index, Daniel Pink, Drive; PositivePsychology.com to name a few). My favorite list is below.
Look at the eight categories. Which one(s) resonate most with you? Where do you put the greatest value? Pick the one or two that are most important. If you want to read about these categories in more detail and learn which one(s) motivate you the most, you can find a worksheet at the bottom of the page).
As Ryne Jenkins, chief science officer at Hogan and former professor of psychology, says on my podcast, our motivators ultimately shape our professional journeys: “The things that we value, the things that motivate us – we think this is the way to live life […]. Obviously, that is going to shape the kinds of careers we go into.” For example, someone who is driven by predictability and security will likely enjoy a very different career than someone who is motivated by change, innovation and risk-taking.
Readjusting and Reframing
If you struggle with motivation at your job, it is likely that you feel some discrepancy between your core values or drivers and the work that you are doing. Sometimes, the solution lies in changing your position. But sometimes, all you need is to get (re-)focused on how you are doing the things that you value.
There are several ways to do this:
Identify opportunities in your current job that emphasize one of your drivers. For example, if you are motivated by affiliation and affinity, are there ways of incorporating more team activities? Could you find an occasion to bond with a co-worker, have more networking lunches, organize an event that brings people together, forge closer connections to your peers?
Reframe how you think and talk about your work. For example, when you are talking about your job in sales, you could talk about the revenue you are generating for others or the money you yourself are making. But, you could also highlight who you are helping, how your mastery has led to an elegant solution to a problem or how you solved a problem for a client by using your connections at work. What is it about your work that fulfils your drivers or could do so in the future?
Recognize that your values and drivers can be matched outside of work. The job you are doing might not be perfectly aligned with your purpose, but it could help you do the things you enjoy somewhere else by giving you the space, flexibility or resources needed to do so. Maybe your happiness and energy are fueled by the volunteer work you do after office hours. Maybe you are a passionate musician, and your not-so-demanding allows you to compose in your free time. How can you fulfill your drivers outside of work?
Now that you understand the power of intrinsic drivers, are you ready to use this knowledge to your advantage? Use the self-assessment below to identify your own personal motivators.
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