#Middlebury #Motivation
WINNING WAYS
Insights for Constructive Living
by PAT IANNUZZI
What drives you? Why do you do the things you do every day? What is the underlying motivation that determines your attitudes and behavior? There clearly has to be something, but do you know what it is? Can you easily explain it?
Answering this question can be a lot more difficult than it may at first appear because we may not necessarily be consciously aware of what exactly is driving us. However, I would suggest this might be a good thing to know because unless we’re aware of our drivers, we may not truly be in control of our lives.
Right now, our actions may be driven by a variety of issues going on in our lives, many of which may be unintentional, simply the result of emotions caused by the circumstances we’re currently experiencing. We may be driven by a painful memory, a haunting fear, or some subconscious belief. Anxiety, guilt, anger, low self esteem and a lack of self confidence are just a few examples of the multitude of emotions that can drive our behaviors, often without our being consciously aware of them.
The problem is that what may be driving us may not have anything to do with any sense of personal purpose or life mission. Our drivers may be out of alignment with those issues that, on close examination, we would recognize are truly important to us. Our drivers may actually be distracting us by taking us off track or even in the opposite direction from what we desire from life. We must never lose sight of those things that are important to us, and we need to steadily and consistently strive to keep them at the forefront of our minds.
Certainly, we have to contend with all the other issues that pop into our lives, but we must not let them dominate our thoughts or our time. If we do, we can become stuck in a rut that can become very difficult to climb out of. Even more destructive, however, is not having any clear, positive drivers at all, so we wind up living in a world of fear and excuses where our main focus is simply on getting through the day, perhaps merely to survive. After all, winners and losers both have goals
Think about what you feel you really would like to be doing and why. Then figure out why you’re not currently doing it. If you feel stuck, determine what is keeping you stuck and find a way to get un-stuck. If you fall back on the notion that your circumstances are the problem, consider that you personally are the one most responsible for your circumstances, if not necessarily for creating them, certainly for perpetuating them.
Developing a personal vision statement can help us clarify where we want to go in life and help us to clearly and honestly assess whether or not we are currently headed in the right direction. Having a personal vision gives meaning to life. Reflecting on our current attitudes and daily behaviors can help us determine if we are doing the right things and doing those things right. If we are, we can derive important and comforting satisfaction that our drivers are guiding us on the right course. If we aren’t, this can be a great opportunity to make whatever changes we need to make to get back on track toward personal fulfillment.
Pat Iannuzzi of Symbiont Performance Group, Inc. is a performance consultant, trainer and coach focusing on selling, presentation and interpersonal skills. He lives in Litchfield and can be reached at 860-283-9963 or piannuzzi@symbiontnet.com.
