Personal Motivation

I'll begin by telling you that I had the same New Year's resolution that 75% of the US population had - lose some weight.  Nothing unique or inherently interesting about that.

But what might be slightly more interesting is examining my source for personal motivation to actually achieve some weight loss.  And for my inspiration I turned to another family member (Mom) who wanted the same and conjured up a challenge - some healthy competition.

Why, you ask?  Because I realize and know that COMPETITION is an excellent source of personal motivation for me.  I thrive on competition.  Less so today than in the past, but it still makes up a big part of my recipe for personal motivation and engagement.

Another source for personal motivation is ACCOMPLISHMENT.  I like to see things crossed off on my 'to do' list.  I enjoy logging a workout on MapMyRide way more than I actually like to work out.

Another source of motivation for me is MY FAMILY.  I would do anything for my family - Anything. Now that's not saying that I will stay home and clean the house rather than go fishing just because Holly wants me to.  But if it is really important to my family then it becomes really important for me.  And if it's really important then I am motivated. Simple as that.

Another more controversial motivation for me is STATUS.  I want to be perceived as doing good things in the eyes of others.  I have a strong desire for being respected, highly regarded.  Not necessarily liked, there is a difference.  I suppose I'm like most in believing I'm not average - I'm better than average but that is back to the competitive gene that was mentioned above.

Now I'm certain that as I write this post that I'm missing some characteristics of my personal motivation formula.  But I'm even more interested in Marc and Brad's formulas and how they might compare to mine.

So what's your formula for personal motivation?