Why do you get up each morning and do what you do each day? On the surface, that may seem like an obvious question. Looking a little deeper into what is going on within us as we move through our days can help us gain a deeper understanding of the why behind some of our basic and most routine actions. It is likely your day’s activities are driven by a number of factors. Choices you have made at various times in the past may determine where you live, where you do the thing you have chosen to fill the majority of your time. How you feel about any and all of these factors in your life will play a bit part in your motivation to do the things that you do to occupy your day.

How do you feel about the activities in your day and the people you will be spending your day with? Are simply trading your time for something like money or advancement in knowledge, or  do you see your days spent in meaningful activities that improve the quality of life for people, yourself included? The answers to these questions have a real bearing on your motivation to live each day to its full potential.

Are you able to use your skills, knowledge and abilities during your day to do things that bring you satisfaction? Do you believe others appreciate what you do in your days? One of the reasons the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” continues to be popular year after year is that is shows the impact an ordinary person has on his environment and what a loss his not being there brings to his world. Whose life are you making better by being part of their world?

Sometimes catastrophic events happen in our lives or the lives of those around us. Finding the motivation to adjust to those major events brings us face to face with our motivation as we struggle to adjust to outside forces that bring sweeping changes to us and those around us.

One way to look at your motivation is to determine if you are someone who sees everything in terms of the effect it has on you or something who is always looking at how things affect other people and how you can be of support to them as they live their days. You will understand a lot of your motivation if you discover where you are in that area of life.

Are you basically a happy person? Would others describe you as happy? Even happy people struggle and get discouraged. A lot of understanding about our motivation can be learned by honestly looking at that aspect of life.

The great thing about understanding our motivation is that there are always things we can do to improve things. Even if you discover an overwhelming number of things in your life that seem beyond your control, there are always things you can change. What is one thing in your day you can change that is so simple you cannot fail at it? Take a walk, smile at one person, wish someone a Happy Birthday on Facebook. These and countless other things can give you something to look forward to and brighten someone’s day.

As we move forward, it is my hope that we will each gain a greater understanding of our own motivation so for ourselves and others we can make things just a little better each day. I want each of us to have a positive answer to the question,”Why do you get up each morning and do what you do each day?” Because I can make a difference to myself and others!

If you would like to receive new As We Move Forward posts, please subscribe to the As We Move Forward mailing list by clicking here. I release entries on a bi-weekly basis.

We have a podcast containing the As We Move Forward articles read by Jae Bloom.