A new year usually means a time to re-assess our lives in terms of job satisfaction, quality of life, family relations, well-being, personal growth and development to mention but a few. But what is stopping us from doing this review on a more regular basis?
Are you and your skill set recognised and rewarded appropriately at work? What motivates you to do better/more/improve? This is useful knowledge to have before going into a job interview or annual review.
Locke’s Goal Setting Theory suggests that we are more motivated if we:
1) participate in setting the goals
2) goals are challenging, so stretch your skill set
3) goals are specific (SMART goals)
4) performance on previous goals achieved are fed back to you
Do you agree and can this help you to set new goals for this or the coming years?
Other theories about motivation discuss whether we attribute our successes and failures to things within or outside our own control. Which side are you on? Do you feel in control of your destiny or do you think things will happen whatever you do? Whatever your view is, this will of course affect your motivation level so bear that in mind.
Common for most theories about motivation is the fact that the goal should be clear and achievable. If you don’t know what you are working towards or if the tasks are too overwhelming you are not likely to succeed.