Maintaining Your Motivation

I joined a health club several years ago with the best intentions. I

was going to lose weight, get in shape, etc. A couple of weeks later, they posted a weight lifting challenge. You totaled the amount of weight you lifted each time you were in the gym and the top 50 would have their names posted for all to see.

I went for it!

And, I made it…which was a major mistake. Why/ Because as soon as I hit that goal, I quit.

I had no more motivation.

Know What Makes You Go

I believe motivation goes far beyond Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy

of Needs." Maslow said we all strive to meet our needs--first Basic, then for Security, then for Affiliation, then Achievement, and finally, for Influence/Power. These stages are sometimes labeled differently, but the basic concept is the same.

In my humble opinion, Maslow was right in that he said we move up and down the pyramid of needs when crises arise. However, many experts believe that most of us eventually "settle-in" on one or the primary motives when our basic needs have been met.

The three most common primary and somewhat unchanging motivations are:

* Power/Influence.

* Achievement

* Affiliation

Which is yours?

Once you know, you can keep yourself going. You'll also know what things to avoid. Mine is achievement. This means I need to measure myself and my results to stay motivated to keep plugging away. Thus, once the contest was over, so was my motivation. What I SHOULD have done was to find another measure/goal before that happened to keep myself on track.

If you'd like to learn more about motivation, personality, and other factors that can keep you moving forward, check-out my book, "Whole 4 Life." You can find out more here:

http://www.rissingerresourcegroup.com/resources

Blessings,

Pastor Joel