Mmmmmotivation!
Last Sunday I spoke at Brandy Agerbeck’s ENVISION event—it was fabulous and so much fun! Brandy had tasked with addressing, fully engaging with the topic of motivation. So, my question for you is…
What motivates you?
Maybe the first question or the better first question is, what does motivation mean to you?
How is it different from inspiration?
And where do you “get” both of those things?
Inspiration is exciting, it pulls me forward. I’m inspired/totally engaged in almost all my projects or endeavors.
Motivation is the engine/energy that keeps me going because in most projects not only is there a beginning, middle, and end, there are also periods of excitement, immersion, flow, joy, and yet there are also those times of disappointment, feeling stuck, working through challenges, frustrations, making and learning from my mistakes and rising up again.

One of the fabulous ideas from Brandy Agerbeck’s ENVISION 2021 Card Deck
So my question for you is, what keeps you moving forward (know that this is not a straight line) when it gets challenging?
For me, part of it is my philosophy of life. I’m steeped in the field of positive psychology and come from an Appreciative Inquiry perspective. In short, I endeavor to focus on the positive AND be realistic/acknowledge the things are difficult. Ultimately, I choose to focus my attention and energy on what’s going well, to amplify that, to work with the things that I perceive to be obstacles, concerns, or frustrations.
So when I need motivation, I think about experiences I’ve had in the past that are similar. They/the learning and insights become the foundation to build on. And, I love turning to books, articles, websites, and, of course, my ever-growing network of colleagues and friends, who among them possess a vast amount of knowledge. Truth be told, I’m also motivated by the deadline…
How about you?
I’d love to hear you’re strategies and tactics for generating and maintaining your motivation.