What Makes Us Feel Good About Work?
I suppose there's an assumption somewhere in this question. I can be sure the only reason why we do anything is because at some level, and for some reason, we feel good about something at some point. However, it does not necessarily mean we feel good about the work we are doing. Case and point; if in order to earn enough money to pay my way through college, I would have to work at a job that perhaps was quite menial, uninspiring, and frankly, unmotivating, save the fact that it will pay for school.
My motivations for my job have changed with the job over the passed 16 years. When starting out, I was motivated by a strong desire to challenge myself mentally and physically. That is to say, I wanted to know that I can get my body to do whatever my mind wanted it to do. During this period of my life, I would be training for the SEAL Teams. In the coming years, my motivations would change from the mental and physical challenges, to wanting to be accepted by my peers, desires for making rank, receipt of bonuses to pay off school loans, and the wanting to create a positive reputation that would precede me. However, these have been motivations behind the purpose of what I do.
My true purpose behind anything I do, is to be the best I can be at it. There are so many things in life that needs to be accomplished on a day to day basis, and I work often diligently to master myself in all areas. At work, my purpose is to gain the experience and knowledge in an area I have chosen that reflects qualities that I possess and excel at naturally. While fulfilling this purpose, motivated by the promise of mastery, I search for a balance of accomplishment, humor, change in activity, and reflection on a daily basis.
All my life, I have never truly understood why I would want to pursue anything for the sheer reason of just doing it without the strife of excelling to be the best you can be at it. Along the way, I have had the opportunity to coach, mentor, advise and teach the young, peers, and the old. One of my greatest motivators I have come to know is that of inspiring others. Zenger & Folkman (2013) claim the ability to inspire creates the highest level of employee engagement and commitment. As an experienced elite gymnast, I have had the pleasure of motivating up and coming promising gymnasts, bodybuilders as a certified personal trainer, and US Navy SEAL candidates as a current Team member. In this, I see those who look up to me for guidance, answers, and decisions based on my credibility from my experiences, as being inspired to motivate themselves to do something more challenging; something they could acknowledge as a great challenge that could be overcome by themselves. In doing so, I can continue to empower them, and support their motivations.
References:
Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2013, June 20). Leadership: What inspiring leaders do. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/06/what-inspiring-leaders-do
No comments:
Post a Comment