The other day I had a conversation with a friend about identifying the core emotion that drives you in life, as well as in business. I think for each and every person there is a core emotion that motivates action. Finding that emotion and putting it to work for you isn’t as obvious as you might think, because it involves discovering what makes that emotion to pivotal to your motivation.
For a long time my core emotional motivation was anger. I think it’s a fairly common emotional motivator. Anger at the word, anger at other people, anger at yourself…we all feel it. In my case, it was feeling anger whenever someone told me I couldn’t do something. I’d want to prove the person wrong and I’d use my anger to motivate me. These days that’s not so much the case. Instead my emotional motivation has moved more toward curiosity. I have an insatiable appetite for learning and I’m curious to discover more.
My friend told me that shyness was her motivator…specifically she was motivated to not let her shyness control her. It was an interesting approach to shyness and it shows that emotional motivation isn’t limited to an emotion such as anger, or fear, or love…you can find strength and motivation from a variety of emotions. Recognizing what emotions motivate you can help you consciously draw on them at times when you feel less motivated or low energy. You know that those emotions are sustenance for your passion and will push you forward, even if you are ready to stop. What’s the emotion that motivates you?
