To follow up on last week’s analytical thinking problem, we’ll jump to number 4 on the list of the best skills of 2023: motivation and self-awareness.
Motivation and self-awareness skills they have to do with knowing your potential and constantly seeking its fulfillment. In the workplace, employers probably think of these skills in terms of your professional development, but this can also apply to emotional and mental circumstances, especially when you’re in charge.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) classifies this skill as “attitude”, meaning it’s more about how you present yourself than your cognitive or technical abilities. The fact that motivation and self-awareness – along with skills like curiosity and agility – are so valuable to employers is “evidence that businesses are emphasizing the importance of resilient and reflective workers who embrace a culture of lifelong learning as the life cycle of their skills shortens,” the WEF says in its Report on future jobs.
Translation: As new technologies drive the need for more advanced technical skills, employers value workers who actively identify and seek growth opportunities to stay ahead of upcoming technological advances.
It’s easy to understand why this is a desirable skill, but it can also be really challenging to execute, especially when your growth is expected to happen alongside or outside of your regular job duties.
So what can you do to motivate yourself to keep growing?
One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to remember yours why. Your why is why you do everything you do. It is your root cause.
Let’s say you want to feel motivated to learn rapid engineering.
- Why do you want to learn rapid engineering? So you can use ChatGPT to streamline your daily workflow.
- Why do you want to simplify your daily workflow? So you can free up the time you’d spend on mundane tasks and instead focus on more meaningful, productive tasks and build a stronger case that you’re ready for a promotion.
- Why do you want a promotion? That way, you can earn a higher salary and save more money for a home down payment.
- Why do you want to save money for a house? In this way, you can ensure a more stable living situation for yourself and your family.
- Why do you want to ensure a more stable living situation for yourself and your family? So you can have more control over your long-term life situation and better plan your future.
- Why do you want to plan your future? So you can be willing to support your family the way they want to be supported, instead of needing them to support you.
When you think about it that way, it sounds like learning fast engineering will put you on the path to becoming the best provider for your family. That’s much more motivating than just thinking about the extra workload you’ll be able to take on as you get more comfortable with ChatGPT.
Knowing your own why is not the only way to boost motivation and improve self-awareness. Here are five more science-backed strategies to try as you explore how to motivate yourself:
- Put your goal on the calendar.
- Make working towards your goal a habit.
- Plan for imperfection.
- Set small goals to build momentum.
- Track your progress.
You can use these strategies to motivate yourself any area of your life, regardless of the goal you are working towards and however distant that goal may seem to you. And remember: not every strategy will be the right strategy for everyone in every situation. It’s worth trying a few to find out which are your best motivators under the circumstances.
Continue to build your motivation and self-awareness
For more motivation strategies, read our article How to motivate yourself: 11 tips for self-improvement. Or enroll in any of these highly rated courses:
That’s all for this week. Next week we will explore leadership and social influence skills. Until then, share your motivational tips in the comments section – we love to get new ideas from you!