Motivation- What Does it for You?

I’ll be honest. Motivation is something that I have been struggling with recently. Motivation to get to the gym, motivation to finish unfinished projects, motivation to go into the office, motivation to get out of bed.

Ouch.

I was reading a blog the other day by an Australian Team Leadership Guru, James Adonis, who quoted some research done by the University of Rochester regarding the key drivers for motivation. Pop it into your search engine if you are interested, but essentially, this particular theory surmises that each employee will fall into one (or possibly more) of the following motivators. My theory is that each of the signs will, in turn, fit within one or more of these categories.

1.       Challenge- always look for something that stretches. Aries, Capricorn, Scorpio and Cancer would fall into this category. Sagittarius is also looking to push his boundaries. Taurus also needs solid goals.

2.       Curiosity- the excitement of the new, the thirst for knowledge and skills. Aquarius and Gemini are good examples, as is Sagittarius. Virgo also likes information, data and numbers. Pisces dislikes sameness and likes to dream up new ways of solving problems.

3.       Competition- Hello Aries! Scorpio, the other Mars sign also gets off on competition, but in a different way. Capricorn competes in terms of worth and recognition.

4.       Control- Scorpio absolutely- both on a control and power aspect. Taurus also likes to hold on. Leo also likes to lead. Virgo controls through information. Delegation and empowerment are also key considerations here.

5.       Recognition and security- Capricorn, Leo, Taurus and Cancer.

6.       Cooperation and collaboration- Libra, without a doubt. Aquarius too operates well within a group, but without the diplomacy of Libra.

7.       Fantasy- Pisces...obviously...without a doubt. This category also includes creativity (Leo) and learning (Gemini)

Consider also where your Moon, Mars and Midheaven are as well.

I tried this out at home on Scorpio hubby and myself, so not entirely a representative group, but...

In his case, he needs challenge, control and power (Scorpio Sun & Mars in Scorpio), his Capricorn Midheaven needs respect, security and solid goals, his Scorpio Mars needs to win (no matter how long it takes) and his Gemini Moon is curious.

From my viewpoint, with so much Pisces, fantasy and creativity are absolute motivating factors for me. With a Sag Midheaven I want to push the boundaries and make a difference and my Scorpio Mars does like control.

What about you...what motivates you? What other categories would you add to this list?