O's 4-Step Guide to Discovering Who You're Meant to Be (Part III)

According to Keirsey, Oprah Winfrey may be a Teacher. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, I never actually got to do last week's exercise (I'm still looking for volunteers!  ...Anyone?)

But in any event, let's move on to:

Part 3: Tap Your Motivation

OK, assuming you've figured out your passion, now you have to keep on track with it.You'd think that would be easy, you being so passionate about it, but no. So we now have to figure out what type of things drive us, to make sure our passion is that type of thing.

So, let's take a quiz!

I did, and apparently my motivation style is Security:

You need to feel financially stable and have the backing of an organization or group. You'd cringe at the thought of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, or traveling the world solo; you gain strength from structure, whether it comes from your job, family, or community. You need to know where your next meal is coming from—not to mention the money for your next mortgage check, car payment, and dog grooming bill.

That sounds decently accurate, if overly simplified.  Let's look at my overall results:

Your Motivation Style: Connection: 4
Your Motivation Style: Security: 5
Your Motivation Style: Influence: 4
Your Motivation Style: Accomplishment: 4
Your Motivation Style: Enlightenment: 3

So I'm actually pretty balanced when it comes to my motivation style.  Sounds more realistic, if less helpful.

How about you?  What did yours turn out to be? Do you agree with it?

All right, now that we have our motivation styles, we're supposed to apply them to the goals we supposedly figured out last time. Maybe we need to tweak the goals, or maybe we need to start over with our second- or third-choice passions.

Now that our goals are in place (er, once we have them. See above), we also need to make sure each step touches base with our motivations. Going with my result of Security, then:

If Security is what drives you, avoid risks and embrace structure so you can relax and enjoy what you're doing, feeling safe and worry-free. If your goal is doing yoga but the cost of classes stresses you out, offer to assist the teacher before class in exchange for free lessons. If you long to travel, start with all-inclusive packages that take care of the details for you.

Well, I don't necessarily agree with the specific examples, but I like the idea.

So, how are you applying your motivation to your goals?

Related articles

• O's 4-Step Guide to Discovering Who You're Meant to Be (Part I)
• O's 4-Step Guide to Discovering Who You're Meant to Be (Part II)
• What Strengthens and Weakens Our Integrity - Part I: Why Small Choices Count