Managing Personal Motivation: Choose What Drives You

“Don’t Let Circumstances Overwhelm You,” says Epictetus.

We simply can’t control what happens around us. You can’t control what happens outside of you. You can only control how you react.

What generally drives you? Something that comes from within or something external to you? What motivates you?

Nowadays, we increasingly define ourselves by external qualifiers.

Cars, clothing, jewelry and gadgets, diplomas, and titles have become ways of defining one’s identity.

At the same time, they are also sources of motivation. I’m not saying it’s good or bad; it’s simply a testament to evolution or devolution. It’s just the way it is.

I was at the beginning of my career. At that moment, I was setting professional development challenges. There was a colleague with a different approach. In a coffee break, I heard the following dialogue:

“X has 2 cars, a villa in an exclusive neighborhood, and a six-figure monthly income.”

“I have 2 beautiful children, I love them like crazy, and I love what I do — and that’s with the thought that I have them by my side.”

He was the only one in my circle of acquaintances who didn’t struggle to make money or advance. Why? Because he…