It is entirely possible that no one ever needs motivation. We are, by nature, perpetual motion machines put into action before birth. Left to our own devices we keep thinking – and taking action – as long as we live. We are creatures who have evolved to be active – in mind and in body. We function best when we are moving.
That may be why motivational speakers are popular. It’s not that they offer us a chance to experience a strange or unique state of being: what they offer is the chance to be most fully ourselves. We like to move, to cheer, to be energized by our connections with other people. We like to be mentally engaged and to feel that we are active participants in our own lives. Motivation feels good and it feels right – the state to which our natural brain and body functions default.
Are you a teacher, a manager, a parent, or a team leader? You might be reading this and thinking: “My people are not motivated. They lack energy. They lack initiative. It takes all my energy just to get them moving at all.” You might be thinking, “I am not motivated at this moment. I don’t know how I’m going to drag myself out of bed tomorrow and get through my to-do list. I dread the moment I have to move again.”
Take another look. Is the problem a lack of motivation or is it that significant motivation is pulling in a different direction than that you think should take the day? Are you unmotivated by work, but intensely motivated by a morning working out in the sunshine? Are your people unmotivated by their jobs but intensely motivated to communicate unhappiness or discord? If you have to pull against the tide, it will often seem like you are not moving at all. It will seem like you are unmotivated.
When you understand that motivation is the natural condition of people, you can begin to look at the people whose active cooperation you require and ask not “what would motivate them?” but “what is motivating them right now?” If they are moving, you will notice where they are going. If they seem to be standing still, you can assume they are being pulled in precisely the opposite direction from the one you would like them to be moving. Notice that they are putting a huge amount of energy into resisting the motivation you have offered, and that this resistance signals real motivation.
Now that you have noticed how motivated they are, you can begin to find a direction that gets your motivation and theirs pulling in the same direction. You can assume they are curious, energized, capable, and focused. You can begin to draw their attention to the ways in which this is true. People who are being pulled away from their natural motivation have often forgotten how strong they have to be to go against the flow. When you appreciate their strength, they appreciate it, too. They – and you – can begin to notice the resilience and talent they are putting at the service of whatever is motivating them.
Once it is apparent that your team is actually highly motivated and capable, the work begins of aligning their real motivation with the motivation you would like them to have. The point is not that the team should give up its common goals: the point is that it is easiest to be motivated when you notice that you are already curious and engaged and strong. Once you are fully aware of the strength of your commitment to being active in the world, you can make the choice to change the nature of that activity. You can make choices to line up motivations that seemed to be pulling in different directions.
If you believe that you are leading a team without motivation, you do not need a motivational speaker. You might need a coach to help you identify your natural motivations – the ones that are pulling you and creating drag as you move in the direction you think is right. A coach might help you step back and catch your team when they are motivated – when they are fully engaged and active. Once you have noticed that you and your team are capable, energized and eager to move, you will begin to find ways of moving together. You will find that thinking about how you are motivated begins the process of motivating you to move in a common direction.
Not sure it will work? Try this. Think of a time you were really motivated, a time when you were eager to move towards a particular goal. Then think of a time when you felt strong and clear and connected with the people around you. Notice that the two states are not logically connected: they just look and sound and feel a lot alike. When you focus on the qualities of motivated people, you begin to feel motivated. Just make sure you and your team are pointing in the same direction as you become aware that you have the motivation you need to get moving.
Linda Ferguson, Ph.D. is a senior partner at NLP Canada Training Inc. in Toronto, Canada. With her partner, Chris Keeler, Linda develops training that allows people to experience stronger integrity and better results. Clients experience rapid, sustainable change and long-term learning about how their thinking drives success. Drawing on fields from the arts to business to neuroscience, NLP Canada Training Inc. provides spring-training for the mind: clients sharpen their perceptions, focus their efforts, and become better at knowing what they want and communicating to get it. Read more from Linda at http://www.nlpcanada.com or http://www.squidoo.com/integratedthinking or http://www.nlpcanadatraining.blogspot.com
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