Jason was with a sales organization for 2 years. It was his
first job since college graduation and while at time he found
himself highly motivated and anxious to perform his job well, he
also experienced periods of high frustration, low motivation, and
frequent discouragement.
In a conversation driven by frustration with his manager, Jason
said,
"You're not doing your job well. You're my
manager, you're supposed to motivate me, and I am not motivated to
do this job well. Sometimes I don't even feel like coming to work
and you need to do something about that."
Jason's boss thought for a moment and pointed to a picture of his
mother displayed in one of the bookcase. He said, "Jason, do you
see the woman in that picture? That's my mother, and you need to
realize that she did not go through the pangs of childbirth and
give life to me so that someone would be on this earth to motivate
you. We are all responsible for our own motivation. I am happy to
help you achieve whatever motivates you, but do not expect me to
provide your
motivation. I have all I can do to keep myself motivated. You
either wake up each day with that fire in your belly to do the job
well or you don't. Over the long haul no one else can give you that
fire!"
Many people perceive their motivation to be the responsibility of
others. Parents, teachers, and coaches may help to provide this
motivation early in life, but in today's workplace, the day to day
motivation necessary to achieve promotion must come from
within.
Your motivation is your own
responsibility. If you are relying on others to keep you
focused and in a state of readiness to perform, you are going to be
sorely disappointed in the long run. Do not give others so much
power or influence over you by allowing them to be responsible for
your motivation and desire. Doing so makes you extremely vulnerable
to the negative intentions and manipulations of others.
[This message has been edited by zzzzland (edited 04 April
2001).]
[This message has been edited by zzzzland (edited 04 April
2001).]