Motivation
How do you show up?
“Energy can’t be created or destroyed, and energy flows. It must be in a direction, with some kind of internal, emotive, spiritual direction. It must have some effect somewhere.”
Where is your energy at now, right now, on a scale of 0-10?
If you picked 7, nice try. Take a breath, look inward, and then choose any other number between 0-10. 0 being “how did I even get as far as opening this page?” and 10 being “this is me at my absolute peak of enthusiasm, drive, motivation.”
Now that you have your number, think of a word to describe the quality of energy that you have. Is it a hopeful 6? An anxious 9? A satisfied 3?
Make a note of your number and your word.
One of the most powerful skills we can develop is the ability to notice how we are feeling. Brains and bodies are amazing instruments. They give us data constantly. Being able to receive and interpret this data is a skill, meaning we can grow it over time and harness it.
We’ve talked before about the power of curiosity. It’s a great tool for this skill of interpreting ourselves, too - getting in the habit of asking “How am I feeling? When did that start? What might that mean?”
So let’s ask some questions about energy. If we think of being “energised” as being motivated, inspired, passionate, driven etc. (as opposed to excitable) then it becomes a very favourable mindset for learning and high performance.
When do you feel most energised?
It’s a simple question, and yet getting a detailed and accurate answer makes a massive difference. By knowing that, for example, you feel most energised when you are in charge of a project or a situation, you can instruct your brain to start looking for opportunities to be in charge. Whether that be looking for a new job, responsibilities within your current role, a promotion, starting a business, even getting a new hobby.
Conversely, you’ll also discover the things that de-energise you. So if you are looking for a job, if the description says you’ll be following someone else’s instructions, you know from the beginning that it’s going to be a de-energising experience - so is that the role for you?
Now that we’re actively exploring opportunities to feel energised, we can notice gaps. In the “I like to be in charge” example, perhaps you don’t have the relevant skills or training to go straight into a leadership role. So how can you close that gap? And if it’s connected to this desire, that you know is energising, can the process of closing that gap feel alive and inspiring?
This is a big topic - one we may return to. But for now, ask yourself those questions around energy, and notice what happens when you get the answers.
And before you go - where is your energy at now?
What’s your number now? What’s your word now?
And what might all of that mean?
Interested in the topic of curiosity? We recently interviewed Tom Goodwin, who discussed the role of curiosity in building a growth mindset. Listen to the conversation here.
