What motivates you?

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Julie Lyn
  • 60th Medical Support Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  That sounds like an easy question, but quite honestly, I'm not sure if everyone knows the answer. Motivation is a powerful tool which propels an individual to move forward in a positive and upward direction.

Fortunately, motivation is not a concrete set of factors or techniques that are can be considered either right or wrong. It all depends on what works for you, which varies significantly between you and your peers.

Where is your motivation derived from? Some people seem to possess internal motivation that appears to be on overdrive and others seem to waver in the wind. If you are one of the wavering souls, you may wonder, "Is all lost for me?"

To answer that question, no. All people have the ability to identify, evaluate and determine the factors that motivate them, although it is a matter consciously making the choices in life that result in moving in a forward momentum.

Inspirational and motivational speaker Mark Victor Hansen, had it right when he said, "Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful."

My challenge for each Airman is to step back for a moment and honestly assess what motivates you. If you do not know, take the time to find out now for this can determine your future success. Motivation is the driving force behind actions; whether the action is acceptable is another question. The future is the only thing we have control over. Don't leave it up to fate or your future supervisors. Take your future into your own hands and control its destiny.

I'm sure you have heard many people say that if you are too comfortable and not being challenged, something is wrong. At times, you need to get out of your comfort zone and do something that requires more from you. That is the only way we grow and growth is not optional. It's an unquestionable necessity.

It's not always easy to maintain your motivation, especially when a difficult situation arises. There are a few reasons why your personal motivation takes a dip. A few based on my personal experience are lack of confidence, lack of focus and lack of direction.

There are ways to overcome these factors. Often, it's just a matter of knowing what works for you. There are so many success stories out there. I, personally, like to listen to motivational speaker and life coach Anthony Robbins. I know that when I get in a rut and need a boost, I listen to his "Personal Power" CDs and I'm ready to make things happen. This is the right prescription for me. You need to find out what gets you excited about waking up each morning and putting your best foot forward and ultimately being the best you can be.

Obviously, along with internal motivation an individual owns, there also is motivation fed by external factors, and that's where we, as leaders, come into play.

Our responsibility as Air Force leaders is to help young Airmen and NCOs focus and identify their personal motivations. Knowing what motivates Airmen and what they consider to be important can prove to be beneficial in accomplishing the mission.

We are all unique and require various needs to be met in order to build confidence and quench our thirst for personal satisfaction. Supervisors can easily satisfy this need by acknowledging this simple statement and deliberately matching members to individual tasks.

You may find that Airmen may excel in certain skills and may lack in others. This can be misinterpreted as laziness or not possessing the required skills, which may be true in some cases, but not always. Oftentimes, it's that we failed to make a connection between the task and what motivates the Airmen.

In order for us to make this connection, we must know what an Airman values as important and what can feed his or her need. Amazing things start to happen once we successfully merge these two requirements together. You will start to see your Airmen grow in confidence, get excited about accomplishing the mission and coming up with creative ways to do things.

As many of us have undoubtedly experienced, the commotion of motivation and enthusiasm in the work center is contagious. This energy and behavior will develop a work environment that all Airmen will want to work in. Let's make it happen.

As internationally renowned, best-selling author and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer said, "Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."