Passion is one of the reason behind motivation. From another perspective, Motivation is the Desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm. Motivation is Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. Passion and motivation wax and wane in all of us, the key is to find the resolve to keep pushing on toward the goal by just taking the next right stepand then the nextand then the next.
- “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” – Oprah Winfrey. Passion, as what the dictionary says, is a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for doing something. It is the very thing that makes you feel happy, the one that will motivate you to become the very best you can be.
- Passion helps intensifying focus: Passion is a state of mind. When you are passionate about a job.
Motivation and
Emotional Intelligence
Copyright © 2014 by Emily A. Sterrett
Published by:
HRD Press, Inc.
22 Amherst Road
Amherst, MA 01002
800-822-2801
ISBN 978-1-61014-316-5
Motivation and
Emotional Intelligence
Molly, the Vice President of HR, was handed a daunting assignment—to take a long, hard look at the company’s problems with employee turnover. Her CEO wanted a full report, with recommendations, in 60 days. Three weeks had already gone by, and Molly was clearly avoiding the project. She was overwhelmed and had no idea where to begin. The issue of employee turnover hit home: she’d taken a recent call from a headhunter herself, and although she turned him down, the call had stimulated her thinking. Molly was feeling tired and drained at work, unable to muster motivation for much more than her day-to-day activities.
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Emotion is the foundation for creativity, passion, optimism, drive, and transformation. Motivation is a synonym for enthusiasm, initiative, and persistence. A positive attitude in the Social dimension is motivation, one of the key facets of Emotional Intelligence and of leadership.
A thought without emotion falls flat; it is emotion attached to the thought that acts as the springboard, the energy that’s needed for action Without emotions, whatever work we do likely would be done robotically, thus affecting the entire organization, including business relationships. Motivation—internal energy that moves outward in one direction—is a quality that distinguishes the good leader from the great one. But where does such motivation come from?
The Importance of Meaning
It is important that we attach meaning to what we do, because without it, it will be very difficult to sustain our motivation or energy. When was the last time you asked yourself the real purpose of your job? Beyond meeting this year’s sales goals, that is, or cutting the budget by another 10% or reaching gross revenues of $50 million or scoring a personal financial coup. What does it all mean? A leader who is not committed to the organization’s purpose and who does not genuinely believe that the purpose is somehow meaningful to society will never be able to inspire others.
Motivation is not a something “out there” that pushes us. We feel external pressure when others urge us to do, be, or achieve something, but allowing our lives to be shaped by externals depletes our creativity and our energy, and is hard to sustain in the long-term. Motivation is based on a very deep level of what we truly want—an internal force that we can then focus toward the outside world. People who lack enthusiasm have allowed themselves to get so caught up in externals that they have lost touch with that internal fire. We can do most things that we really want to do! When we understand our purpose and see that it gives our lives meaning, we are motivated and strengthened with an internally guided commitment that overshadows external pressure. Motivation keeps the fires going!
Defining Your Purpose
Passion And Motivation Quotes
When was the last time you actually spent quality, reflective time thinking deeply about what you really want? Most of us get so caught up in details and activities that we lose touch with all our passion. Passion comes from the emotional brain, and when we lose touch with our deepest desires—our passions—we cut off our feelings and jeopardize our health. If our activity isn’t guided by our deep desires, we will not be able to muster up the motivation to pursue that activity. If we ignore what we deeply desire for our lives, we are, in a sense, being untrue to ourselves. Failing to recognize who we really are inside will prevent us from acquiring Emotional Intelligence, jeopardize our physical health (the body-mind connection), and worst of all—keep us from attaining true happiness.
When we are feeling genuinely satisfied with our lives, we are probably on the right path. Satisfaction is just a milder form of passion or motivation. We need the respite that satisfaction brings because we cannot sustain intense motivation indefinitely without resting and regrouping. Even in our less passionate moments, the intensity of meaning and purpose is still evident within us and serves to guide our actions.
Reconnecting with your purpose is a great way to restore energy and motivation to your life. How badly do you want something? Are you motivated? If you do not have much enthusiasm, then you have not tapped into that internal source of meaning—what you really enjoy and what’s really most important to you. This is what will get you enthusiastic and motivated. Dig in your heart to find that spark of energy that will light your internal fire.
Suggestions for Finding Meaning in What You Do
- Keep a journal (see The Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence for details).
- If you have trouble clearly articulating exactly what you want, let yourself think, meditate, relax, and feel what moves inside you. Anything you really want will be felt in your gut. Think it and say it, and do not allow your cognitive brain to bury your desire with the attitude, “Why want it when I can’t have it?” If you can’t do it as a career, find a way to do it as an avocation.
- Pay attention to what excites you, and then do more of it! Give yourself permission and opportunity to fall in love with an idea, an object, a project, a person, work, leisure, or anything else that brings out the best in you. This is an important key to emotional well-being. Everyone needs at least one area of life in which they feel enthusiasm.
- Think about things from the past that have “turned you on.” What elements of those things can you re-create in the present?
- Use process comments (see The Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence for details) with another person. This will help you re-establish meaning in an ongoing relationship.
- Look at your organization with fresh eyes. Pretend you are telling a 6 year old about what you do. They don’t want to know the details; they want to know how what you do affects them and how it affects other people. (Not, we make brake assemblies, but we make the brakes for your bike that help stop you from running out into the street and getting hit by a car; not, we manage health care systems, but we take care of the money for the hospitals so they can help people get well.)
Describe the meaning of your job in the words of a child. How does what you do help people or help make the world a better place? Write it here:
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- If you need professional help to do this, then go get it. There is nothing like personal or career counseling to help you get things straight and find your path. Until you take the necessary steps, you will not be able to muster much enthusiasm for anything.
Optimism
A person with a positive attitude is a pleasure to be around. In fact, we gravitate toward such people, and their optimism tends to be infectious! Optimists pull more customers their way, and people who work for optimists are more productive: we work harder to please optimistic coworkers, customers, subordinates, and superiors, and we enjoy working with them. No one wants to spend much time with someone who is sarcastic or surly, or who always sees the negative in everything! Optimists are more successful in creating whatever results they are seeking.
Optimism is associated with hope, and hope is a good predictor of success on a difficult job. Hope or optimism, an important part of Emotional Intelligence, allows us to carry on despite the inevitable obstacles we will encounter. Those with less Emotional Intelligence (and less hope, in particular) give up easily when they encounter difficulties. People with an optimistic attitude see failure as temporary. It is something that can be changed, and they have some control over the circumstances of the failure. Pessimists often see failure as part of some personal characteristic that is permanent and unchangeable. They also look for what is bad in the external world, ignoring what is good.
Psychologists tell us that the feeling of hopelessness can lead to depression, with its resulting lack of energy and motivation. We must convince ourselves that mistakes are only permanent if we let them be permanent. Perhaps we cannot completely erase a mistake or control all the external factors, but we can find a way not to let a mistake completely block our path. We can reduce errors and obstacles by concentrating on those things we can control. The only thing we can control and change 100% of the time is our attitude: if we think the world stinks, we will find plenty of evidence to support this notion, and that will surely justify our hopeless and pessimistic attitude! An emotionally intelligent person looks for the good in the world, in the community, and in the workplace (and finds plenty of that). It’s just a matter of shifting our perspective, and using more of the space in our thinking and emotional brains to hold on to the good stuff!
Suggestions for Increasing Motivation and Optimism
Where do you get motivation when you have none, like Molly at the beginning of the chapter? Where do you get a positive attitude when the world looks bleak? If you are filled with lethargy, fear, depression, or frustration, you should seriously consider professional help. Here are some things you can also do to help yourself:
- Use a journal (see The Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence for details) to express thoughts about your own purpose or calling. What comes naturally to you? Is this what you are currently doing, or do you need to make some changes?
- Focus on your own internal voice—your dialogue with yourself. If yours says things like, “I’ll never get this done,” or “They won’t like it, I know they won’t,” consciously and deliberately reprogram it for positive thoughts. Use your positive script: “I’ve done a good job before, and I can certainly do this” (see The Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence for details).
- If your dialogue says something like “This whole place stinks,” then it’s time to make a change. What is it you really want, and where do you want to be? Consider a job change.
- Each day on your way to work, have a talk with yourself—a pep talk. Tell yourself “I can get done today all that I need to do,” or “This is going to be a good day.” Repeat your affirmation over and over again.
- At the end of the day, list five good things that happened that day. Even on bad days, you can think of a few things that went well—even inconsequential things. This will help you adopt the attitude that things are never completely bad.
- List the projects you are involved in at work and how they are relevant to your meaning and calling in life. If you have almost nothing in your job that is meaningful, how can you get more work that really means something to you? Discuss possible new directions with your own manager.
- Imagine that this is your best day ever. You’re getting a great deal accomplished, and energy is flowing. Tap into the enthusiasm you would feel on such a day.
- Set aside a “focus time” each day or each week (such as 20 minutes daily or 2 hours each week). Shut your door, hold your calls, alert your staff that you are unavailable, and work on important concentrated work. Schedule this time in your planner; keep a running list ahead of time of projects or tasks to be done during your focus time. Small successes on big projects help keep your motivation up for the long haul.
- Consider the size of the task. Any large project can be broken down into steps that are manageable. Begin by making a list of the steps. If you make the first step a relatively easy one, you’ll be sure to be able to take the next step. Success adds immeasurably to motivation.
- Create a personal motivation team. Think now of three to five people you can count on—people you trust who make you feel good and who can generally lift your spirits. They should be people who inspire you. Have a frank and honest discussion with these people and let them know that you are trying to do some future planning. Ask them if they would be willing to serve on your personal motivation team, to be called on as needed. Offer to reciprocate and do the same thing for them.
- Look for a model to emulate. Better still, look to several people you admire for their level of motivation and their general ability to lead. If you know them well enough, you might want to ask them for advice, or even ask them to serve as your mentor. Find out what keeps them going through tough times.
Creativity
As we work on discovering and increasing our internal motivation, we often find that we can begin to approach things with fresh eyes and fresh ideas. Enthusiasm helps to spark creativity. Excellent leaders with high EQ are always on the lookout to make things better and so add value to the organization. Without motivation, creativity, and flexible thinking, the value of our contributions is limited. We need to learn to value and encourage new ideas in ourselves and others, suspend negative judgments, and be advocates of such ideas. This involves giving people permission to think outside the box by removing barriers so that the energy or motivation of our employees can take over.
Suggestions for Increasing Creativity
- Remain open to ideas. Be slow to criticize, and never say immediately that an idea will not work, no matter how crazy it seems.
- Really listen to the suggestions and ideas of others. Do not assume that you have all the answers or that the current modus operandi is the only way.
- Get the presenter of the idea to give you more information, mull it over, and get others to look at the ideas, too. What parts of the idea look workable, even if the idea cannot be adopted in its entirety?
- Encourage people to work together, because good ideas often emerge from collaboration.
- Engage in structured brainstorming sessions with trained facilitators or with someone on your staff who knows or can learn this skill. Push for quantity of ideas—even outlandish ones.
- Use process comments (see The Fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence for details) to challenge a group that might be stuck. Process comments are observations about what lies behind certain actions or comments. Get to the reasons why.
- Reward and recognize people for contributions they make. Never take credit for the ideas of another, and always recognize and reward good ideas. Those that are implemented should receive some tangible reward.
- Read outside your field of expertise and look for ways to connect the information to your job or work.
The Power of Difficulties
When we are troubled by the loss of a job or a loved one, for example, we are thrown off balance and lose motivation or even interest in our work. This adjustment period is normal and should even be expected (see The Role of Self-Control in Emotional Intelligence). However, out of these difficult times come windows of opportunity, when we begin to take stock of our lives and make what changes we can to better prepare for the bumps that lie ahead, as well as the new opportunities. The body, mind, and emotions regain strength, motivation returns, and we re-enter life with renewed zeal. Reframe the challenges you encounter as opportunities to take stock, re-adjust, and make another positive assault on life. It’s all in the attitude.
Companies dream of having employees that customers and partners remember and like. Your ability to build emotional relationships with colleagues, customers, and partners are essential to companies. You can help them achieve their goals by virtue of being your authentic self.
If you can get people to like you, then you create emotional ties with them and become someone they want to work with and someone they want to buy from. Your energy makes you stand out as passionate (which makes you easy to remember).
Companies like to employ passionate people
A person with this ability is someone companies like to employ. Too often we strive to be cool, detached, and clinical in our dealings with other people. This means that most encounters produce a bland impression.
Your market value is created through your energy and your ability to network and build emotional bonds with the people that you will encounter over the course of your career. Therefore you must become expert at how to map, maintain, and nurture professional relationships. Your biggest challenge will be to make yourself distinguishable from everyone else. Relationship expertise will prevent you from being a copy of the many new professionals entering the job market.
Passion trumps expertise
The combination of passion and energy is stronger than academic prowess alone. Are you academically talented and passionate at the same time? If you are, you are obviously in a really strong position.
Having both qualities maximizes your potential and allows others to see your authenticity! Authentic people take pride in what they do by demonstrating their passion. It is therefore important that you engage in work that you have passion for and execute it with energy. Passion creates positive energy and the two have become valuable and desirable attributes because they produce results.
Do you have doubts? Maybe this will convince you. Think about how often you judge a person based on their energy and charisma. The impression you leave will have a more lasting effect than what you said or did.
Think of how you react when you meet someone who is enthusiastic, energetic, informed, and excited. They are contagious, and you remember that person better than someone who is quiet and timid. The energy you bring to the table and leave in the room becomes part of your business image, your business card.
“Shining eyes” effect
Passion and energy produce what has been called the “shining eyes” effect, which simply means that one has a radiant sparkle in their eyes. People enjoy working with someone whose eyes are vibrant, smiling, convincing, and compelling.
Look at some recent photos of yourself. What do you see? Is there life and enthusiasm or are they the kind of eyes that you would not be fascinated with or drawn to if you saw them in another individual? If you want to exhibit “shining eyes” find your passion!
Find your motivation
It is important to know what motivates you because it is your so-called driving force that will take you forward toward your goals. Identify what makes you “hungry.” Write it down. Your motivation is divided into two types:
- internal motivation
- external motivation
Understanding the two types of motivation is rather intuitive. Internal motivation is sourced from within. There is less of a concern for the rewards of an activity than with the satisfaction of engaging in the activity itself. The process, not the goal, is important.
Quotes About Working With Passion
External motivation is sourced outside the individual. For example: validation by friends, family, colleagues, and supervisors; tangible rewards such as pay increases, promotions, and job titles. Arguably, intrinsic, or inner motivation is the strongest form of motivation as it is not subject to changes by outside sources.
Your motivation drives your performance and is enhanced by three key factors:
- Faith: As they say, faith can move mountains. Believe that you can. Your faith will feed your passion and vice versa, and it will be instrumental in making other people believe in you. It’s just that simple, if you believe in yourself, other people will also believe in you.
- Commitment: If you want something, it is important that you have the ability to override other needs when it really counts. A very simple, yet very important question needs to be answered: How much do you want it? The degree to which you want something will determine the level of commitment necessary to acquire it.
- Focus: You will be continually diverted and distracted. Be good at staying focused for the long haul. To do this you must draw upon your faith and commitment.