I have always loved stories and characters. To me, these offer a fantastic insight into the drivers and motivators that influence who we are and how we interact with the world.
I really love to explore the different kinds of motivations that we all have for our choices in life. Many clients tell me that they have never thought about what the reasoning is behind the choices that they make in life, assuming that most people are motivated by the same things.
In fact, motivation is a very individual thing. One person will find joy from mastering a subject or skill, whilst someone else is inspired by the opportunity to be recognised. Some of us will do anything to create financial stability, while still others of us will go the extra mile if we can be sure to have freedom to manage our own time and diaries.
Uncovering your motivation can be a very powerful experience. Knowing why you look at the world the way you do often feels like the missing piece of the jigsaw has finally slotted into place. With this, comes the ability to see the whole picture and a method to explain and defend your decisions to both yourself and others.
Here are four of the motivations, or drivers that you can explore:
1. The Warrior - the warrior wants to put things right, to do battle, to create justice. Warriors are motivated by the desire to fight for what they believe in and to win.
2. The Magican - the magician likes to transform and catalyse change. Magicans get a kick out of turning one thing into another - it could be a raw material into a product, a perspective from negative to positive to an organisation from disordered or demotivated to structured and energised.
3. The Care giver - wants to heal, help and support others. Care givers get their energy from being useful and of service. They love nothing more than the opportunity to make a difference.
4. The Innocent Child - the Child is all about fun and play. Innocent Child archetypes love to find pleasure and adventure. They are all about the sensory experience of the moment and love to live in the now.
Take inspiration from the world of story, which stories most inspire you and why? Are you an Amelie or an Indiana Jones? What kinds of character do you find inside yourself its time to find out what motivates them to action?