How to id & harness this powerful force that drives your everyday behaviour

Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness, Communication, Conflict resolution

 

Think of a goal – something you want to achieve? (And yes, I know goal setting isn’t a sexy topic & it can be confusing but hang in there because it’s important.)

 

Got one (a goal that is)?

 

Have you been slogging towards it? Feeling unsuccessful? Held back? Discouraged?

 

I may have your answer.

 

Think about what motivates you to achieve your goal.

 

Your level of & type of motivation is uber important because it will make a massive difference to your chances of reaching that goal.

 

So let’s match your goal setting to what drives you. If you do you’ll significantly up the chances of reaching your goal.

 

Plus it’s easy. Truly.

 

I’ll share two ways to find your motivation style; one in this week’s post & one in next week’s.

 

So back to the task at hand. Put that goal to the side for a minute while you ponder the next question.

 

What drives you?

 

Not sure? Take this 4 question motivation assessment I designed based on Nat Geo’s research.

 

“Learning about our drives- our motivations & strivings toward a goal – can help us understand what we want.  Although we don’t always recognize our drives, they are potent forces behind our everyday behaviour.” Your Personality Explained, exploring the science of identity, National Geographic.

 

If you know what drives you you can more easily reach your goals.

 

There are 6 key drives:

 

  1. Achievement

 

  1. Power

 

  1. Affiliation

 

  1. Autonomous Motives

 

  1. External Motives

 

  1. Future Focus

 

Need an example? Let’s take two – one on the professional front & one on the personal front.

 

Here are two examples of how you might proceed based on the 6 different drives. In each case I’ve used a different drive to illustrate how you might reach your goal.

Example A: professional – imagine you set a goal for yourself of changing careers

 

  1. Achievement: you conduct informational interviews with 6 power people in your field of interest.

 

  1. Power: you organize & lead a weekly group of people considering career changes to swap tips & advice.

 

  1. Affiliation: you find a volunteer opportunity in your field of choice.

 

  1. Autonomous Motives: you make a list of top companies in your new field & go for it – you start applying for jobs.

 

  1. External Motives: you check in closely with your community to look at the impact shifting careers would have.

 

  1. Future Focus: you discover there’s a big wage gap between men & women in your new field, so you write an article about it, advocating for change & pitch it to media outlets.

 

Example B: personal – imagine you set a goal for yourself of getting in better shape.

 

Here are some examples of working towards that goal using the 6 drives:

 

  1. Achievement: you find a highly rated app that lets you set your goals & your daily progress towards them.

 

  1. Power: you organize & lead a weekly (insert preferred exercise here) group.

 

  1. Affiliation: you bring together a group of close friends to discuss challenges & successes related to fitness & diet.

 

  1. Autonomous Motives: you make & follow your own exercise program.

 

  1. External Motives: you find a workout buddy to hold you accountable.

 

  1. Future Focus: you organize a weekly workout for inner city kids & take part yourself

 

Did you notice how different the means are depending on the drive? Imagine how much more successful you can be if you match your drives to your goal.

 

So about that goal you’re wanting to achieve for yourself; take the short motivation assessment I designed for you & once you get your (immediate) results – custom tailor your way to success.

 

Go for it! And let me know how it goes.

 

Annnnnnnd take action

 

  • I’m offering an online course called Working Better Together, where we’ll tackle issues like conflict & communication, in part to amp up our grit. It’s based on my work with more than 20,000 participants in & from 115 countries. Email me if you want to get more info laragan (@) rpsinc.ca

 

  • How gritty you are also affects your success in reaching your goals. Take the grit assessment I put together & find your GQ (grittiness quotient)

 

 

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Permalink | Comments (2) | April 26, 2018

2 Responses to “How to id & harness this powerful force that drives your everyday behaviour”

  1. It's been a tough week; here's my response (& interactive gift to you) | Rock.Paper.Scissors.Blog Says:
    May 3rd, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    […] week I wrote about drive. And how, if you know which of the 6 different types of drives you respond to, you can customize […]

  2. It’s been a tough week; here’s my response (& an interactive gift to you) - Rock Paper Scissors Says:
    August 8th, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    […] week I wrote about drive. And how, if you know which of the 6 different types of drives you respond to, you can customize […]

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