Why am I doing this?

Why do I want this?

These are questions that allow us to identify our real motivations. These are some of simplest yet most insightful questions we can ask ourselves.  We end up doing things without really understanding why we do them if we fail to answer these questions.  By asking these questions we can discover the two types of motivation that affect us. The answer to the “why am I doing this” or “why do I want this” question exposes our true intentions and what lies behind our motivations.

Everyone is motivated in different ways. There are so many personal circumstances that affect each individual’s motivation. Most people are motivated by money, attention, power, fulfillment, or happiness. The majority of people take action to achieve one of these things I just mentioned. Motivation is mostly selfish for a lot of people. The only common theme we all share about motivation, is the fact that we are all motivated by something.

What should motivate us?

Instead of blindly doing something because we think it will upgrade our status in some way, we need to understand what actually motivates us. It is easy for us to fall in love with certain ideals. Some things sound great and look great in our minds, but in reality, they offer no fulfillment. These things usually come in the form of short-term satisfaction or instant gratification. Things that make us feel better right away but provide us with nothing over the long run.

Self-awareness is needed to avoid motivations that only provide short-term fulfillment. We need self-awareness to know what our real motivations are. The whole purpose of motivation is that it’s designed to help push us toward a desired result. Without knowing what really motivates us, our ability to achieve that result will suffer. Whether it is a goal you want to hit or a vision we have for ourselves, motivation is what we need to both get us going and keep us disciplined.

Being motivated requires an understanding of the difference between what we think motivates us and what actually motivates us. Understanding this about ourselves will allow us to avoid wasted time pursuing something we think we want or need verses something we actually want or need.

All motivation falls under two broad categories:

• Primary motivation.
• Secondary motivation 

Primary motivation is a motivator that is bigger than yourself, it is connected to some higher purpose. It is the motivation to positively affect those around you. Secondary motivations are more selfish and self-serving, but we must always make sure we have what we need.

Primary Motivators

Primary motivation is the most sustainable form of motivation. It comes with the most pure and honest of intentions. A primary motivation is the will to achieve or connect to some higher purpose. It’s the motivation to be selfless and not selfish. Primary motivation is centered around positive impact and influence on others.

A primary motivator pushes someone to create something that others can enjoy and use to be better, not just for their own personal gain. It is harder for others to benefit from our money or attention. Primary motivators push us to create legacy and work that is recognizable and respected by others. Primary motivators also bring fulfillment, to make you feel proud of yourself and satisfied with the work you do or are doing.

A primary motivation could also be to grow as an individual, in some way whether that be mentally, physically, or emotionally. The motivation is to see how good we can get overall or something specific. Another primary motivation could be to gain with the intent of giving back. This is building or creating something so others can be impacted. Maybe you want to be in a position to offer guidance or resources to the next generation, so they can take advantage of similar opportunities. The motivation is to become someone capable of helping other people.

Some examples of primary motivators can include:

• Writing a book to share your knowledge
• Wanting to earn a position of leadership 
• Starting a podcast to influence and impact others
• Setting up a foundation to help solve some problem,
• Creating a platform to bring awareness to certain issue

There are some common threads that string together all of these things. They all incorporate growth, in some way. It is either personal growth, or growth of those around you. A primary motivation is what allows you to be a better person and improve the lives of others.

A primary motivation is not concerned with the money or recognition from others. Primary motivations work in opposition of self-service. A primary motivation is only used to improve the self when the self is needed to help others. If you are in a position to help others, you should do so. You may not be the ideal leader and possess all the characteristics a great leader has, but you have knowledge, insights, and skills that somebody could benefit from. Even if it is just one or two people.  If you can positively benefit others or provide some value to others, you have the ability to change the world. All you need is one person to believe in you.

Secondary Motivators

These motivators are far more selfish and self-serving. They are more concerned with personal gain. It is doing something or wanting to do something for the sole purpose of gaining either money, attention, or recognition. I say that we should have these secondary motivators because we need money to live a quality life. We also need the attention of others. Attention or recognition is a necessity in life. It is something that all humans crave, no matter how humble you are, or how much you deny the want for attention. We all want to feel appreciated and recognized in some way, it is simply a part of our DNA. The problem is only when attention or recognition become our main priority and it negatively affects our self-esteem.

Attention, money, or fame should not be what we are after or what we are chasing. It is why these are secondary motivators, because they must take a back seat to primary motivators. Our primary motivation should be to achieve some higher purpose. Whether that is creating a legacy for those who come after us, giving back to those who gave to us, or improving and learning more about ourselves. When we start with these primary motivators, the secondary motivators will come naturally. The money and attention will come as a result of accomplishing something bigger than just ourselves. If all we want is money, we will do anything to get it. This will cause us to lose the connection with ourselves, others around us, and what really matters.

It is imperative to have a thorough understanding of why we want what we want. If our motives are selfish, the results we desire will be far more difficult to come by. We also risk damaging certain relationships including the one with ourselves. Money is only a strong motivator until we have enough to live comfortably. Being poor and broke, means that money is probably the most powerful motivator. But once we have enough to be comfortable and take care of the necessities, the motivation for more money diminishes. It becomes a much less powerful motivator. There comes a point where we need something bigger than money to motivate us and get us out of bed each morning to be at our best.

Balancing primary and secondary motivation

More value should be placed on primary motivators than secondary motivators. However, they are both necessary for living an effective and happy life. Primary motivators reward you internally while secondary motivators reward you externally. Primary motivators are the sustaining motivators, the true rewards of trying to accomplish something. Secondary motivators are what we think will motivate us. The truth is though, we need both the internal and external satisfaction to achieve balance. The primary motivators fulfill our responsibility to be productive individuals that help push forward society as a whole. Secondary motivators take care of our financial and personal needs. Every human needs to have some money and recognition to live a quality life where they can find fulfillment and happiness.

There is a common disconnect between primary and secondary motivations within many people. Often times we see secondary motivators as primary motivators. People doing things that may appear as unselfish and with good intent, but really are doing them for selfish reasons to achieve personal gain. They use the deception of creating legacy or providing value and resources to others as a front to draw more attention or money to themselves. This can be seen with certain philanthropists, who set up charities and foundations to help a certain cause but use it to either create tax benefits for themselves or siphon off the money into other areas of personal interest.

There should always be some higher purpose or some worthy cause that motivates. The only selfish primary motivator should be to deepen the understanding of ourselves. That knowledge and insight that we gain should then be given back to help others discover or learn more about their true selves. I believe this is a responsibility all humans should feel. The responsibility to learn, acquire knowledge, develop skills, and ideas, to benefit the greater good. We must help push society forward. It is the only way we can continue to develop as a society. By first gaining, so we can then give.

Secondary motivation is short-term and not sustainable. Eventually we will have to find something else that motivates us. Once we reach a certain level of either money or attention, the more we get the less excitement it brings. When we first get money or attention, we are extremely motivated to receive more. However, this is only leading ourselves down a dark road of unfulfillment and dissatisfaction. There is no ceiling on a higher purpose. WE can never have too much happiness or fulfillment. That is the ultimate goal of primary motivators. They create an upward momentum of growth, happiness, self-acceptance, and satisfaction with life.

Check out our previous article – https://90percenthoops.com/j-of-the-day-why-you-need-a-purpose/

Follow us on Twitter – https://twitter.com/90percent_hoops

Connect with us on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/90-percent-hoops