Understanding motivation

According to studies motivation comes from a vision, goal setting and celebrating success. Motivation takes place when your dopamine spikes because you anticipate something important is about to happen, and motivation as we all know it, is a key part of success. However, the truth is, it's not easy! Being and staying motivated takes a lot of work. The problem is; many people think that they can passively consume motivational videos or read inspirational books to be motivated. That is not how motivation works. Motivation works with active inspiration, meaning it will come after starting a new behavior, not before. This is because motivation is often the result of actions and not the cause of them. Here is what we know about motivation.

Understanding procrastination
Find that one intrinsic reward in what you are doing and enjoy it. Often times we see work as drudgery that is ripe for procrastination. Psychologist Neil Fiore, says procrastination comes not from the nature of the work but from our relationship with it.

At work
it's important to know that the work of top creatives isn't dependent on motivation or inspiration, but rather it follows a consistent pattern and routine. In other words, if you are serious about getting something done then you need to stop waiting for motivation and inspiration to strike and simply set a schedule for doing work on a consistent basis. Habits and schedules are important because they free our minds to advance to interesting fields of action.

Employers 
Employers must actively recruit job seekers who always escalate their goals through built-in motivation. The key to a successful team is to seek individuals who not only engage and embrace career challenges but who enjoy the journey along the way. When you hire the right people, the right work is done in the right way. Employees who are motivated by the fear of losing their job will have less energy and drive to complete their daily tasks.

Here is something interesting
A study has proven that paying an employee too much can have adverse effects on their work performance - higher financial rewards may in fact lead to lower performance. So motivating your employees with more money may not always work. Low compensation on the other hand can create vengeful employees. So, what you want to do as an employer is show your employees that you value them by giving them autonomy in a project, giving them a great environment to work in, and making them understand that their contribution is valuable to the bigger picture.

Motivation like many things has to come from within. External factors rarely have much to do with it and the truth is; there is no real secret to staying motivated other than understanding yourself, what you do and why you are doing it. If that is not enough motivation to get you going, you can be part of the millions of people that turn to the 'self-help' section in the bookstore. 

Communicate Recruitment is a specialist recruitment company with over 3 decades of experience. Our aim is to partner with you and introduce you to great careers and exceptional candidates. We can help you source innately motivated employees in the fields of Engineering, Finance, IT, Supply Chain, and Freight. Connect with us today.