What Motivates You?

Most people don’t truly know. If they have a vague idea, they don’t have the concrete language to communicate and give expression to others. Most people think of motivation as something ephemeral—something that comes in bursts when the right incentives are put in place. But this is not how motivation really works.

In reality, you have a core motivational drive that has probably been operative from a young age. If you examine your life closely enough, you will be able to find actions that you engaged in that brought you a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Many of us have forgotten them. The MCODE exercise asks you to dig deep into your past and think seriously about those times when achieved something meaningful. You’ll be able to identify what specifically it was about each of these stories that gave you the most satisfaction, and we can begin to put our finger on the pattern of your motivation.

I first did this in 2010. It changed the way I think about team-building, project management, and how I organize my own life. It helped me reframe my work so that I was spending more time doing the kind of deeply engaging work that I am highly motivated to do.

You can’t fake motivation. You can only tap into it. This exercise will get you one step closer.