I was recently listening to a podcast called “Mastering Your Motivation” (How to be Awesome at Your Job episode 515). The title drew me in because at the time I was sitting at my desk, looking for something to do, because I wasn’t really feeling motivated to do anything else.
While you should listen to the podcast for how to master motivation, there was a piece of advice that really stood out to me. The speaker, Susan Fowler, suggested that we put ourselves in situations that force us to align what we’re doing with the values we have.
The speaker gave an example: She values learning and decided that while waiting on line at the airport (something she did NOT like doing) she would learn a new skill – patience.
How did she do this? The next time she was at the airport she chose the longest line to wait on. Instead of focusing on the bad, she paid attention to the good. She came away from the experience having helped a nice family who was travelling with their kids for the first time.
When everyone got to their gates the father of the family came to thank her. It made her feel good to help people on long lines, so this activity became a form of integrated motivation – helping others was now her reason and purpose for waiting in a long line.
From then on she waited on line differently. She lives her values and life purpose when she goes through security. She looks for opportunities to help people while waiting on line, which completely changed the quality of the experience.
So the next time I’m waiting on line at the supermarket or doing something mundane like the laundry, I will try to take advantage of the opportunity and align that unpleasant task with one of my values. I will look for opportunities to develop myself and transform seemingly mundane task into those that are full of meaning.
Until next time,
Shaindy
