Motivation - OK on Friday

Closed Doors Week — How Introverts Recharge and Where They Get Energy From, By Personal Example

It took me years to accept the introverted nature of myself. And my partner, as a true introvert, played a lot in this process. Therefore, being true introverts, we often see confusion on the faces of our friends when they hear about our “exciting holiday” during which the two of us played A Way Out on Sony PlayStation.

A common time for such confusion is, for example, my birthday or vacation. ‘Cause it’s just the time of “Where are you going?” and “How many people?” questions.

In the past, when I heard these questions, they shaped my idea of what my birthday should look like. I tried to live up to expectations. It was fun and exhausting at the same time. After such a birthday or vacation, I always needed more rest. So I eventually began to distinguish between these activities – those that energize me and those that consume my energy – and balance them in my schedule.

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Build on your strengths rather than focus on your weaknesses

Often when we want to develop ourselves we pinpoint our weaknesses as opportunities for improvement. And that is ok when we want to get rid of some behavior that makes us unhappy or hinder our progress.

But look at this from another perspective. If you want to achieve something, progress, then the way of improving your weaknesses will take your focus and rather bring you to zero, if you count weaknesses as minuses. Say, -1 becomes 0.

From the other hand if you build on your strengths you will evolve from plus to multiple pluses, i.e. you will more likely excel at a chosen niche that you are good at and will become even stronger with a stronger competitive advantage. Say, 1 becomes 2 or 3. It is naturally easier to further develop your strengths because you are like a fish in water in this field already. And you more likely do not have a cognitive difficulty to start working on that and dedicate time and effort.

Do you know your strengths?

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What motivates us?

Lots of theories out there. The one is for sure, it’s not only about money. Because in the end money is a tool to make or get something that really matters. If you want to build a house it is The house that you want, or even further, The comfort that you will get in this new house built according to your dreams etc.

But when we talk about money as a compensation for a job it is often the same. If you consider a certain salary at an expected level of what you can make, this will not motivate you nor demotivate you. If salary is below expectations it will demotivate. If salary is above expectations it will motivate for a short time, then it will become a new level of expectations and so will neither motivate nor demotivate you.

So what motivates people?

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