What motivates you

Motivation is personal and unique to everyone. Money is a huge motivational factor for some while work-life balance, climbing the corporate ladder, praise, philanthropy, and comradery are other examples. Being thoughtful to what motivates people will help you better understand how to interact, collaborate, and lead. Understanding what motivates you will allow you to make better decisions for yourself. Of course, more money sounds great but what if that meant you couldn't spend time with your family on the weekend?

When I meet with clients they often don’t realize what is important to them, or to be more precise, what is most important to them. Career decisions don’t just affect your career, but also the rest of your life. Knowing what gets you up in the morning and finding it will be the key to your long term success and happiness.

How can you figure out what motivates you? Try writing out a list of things that are important to you. Really think about it and spend a couple hours on this project. Once complete, rank the list. No ties allowed. Share the list with a close friend or loved one. Let them ask you questions on your rankings. They could share a perspective you hadn't thought of. Then take that list and re-rank once again on your own.

When it comes time to make a decision, take a look at this list. How does that decision fit in with the important things in your life? How could that decision enhance or detract? What other choices do you have that could increase your happiness?

To learn more about career coaching go to www.katekibler.com