A 5-Minute Exercise to Find Your Motivation
To get your sense of drive back, reacquaint yourself with your values
A few months ago, I found myself with a crisis of motivation. I’d just left a job and was in no rush to find another. I had a little bit of money to hold me over for a few months. For the first time in my adult life — and possibly the last — I found myself with nothing to do. And there was nothing I wanted to do, either.
It was nice for about two weeks. Then it became weird. I remembered how much I once enjoyed getting things done, my little projects and adventures. Who even was that person? Where did they go?
I needed to get reacquainted with my sense of drive, and fast. To do that, I knew would need to reassess what I wanted. Not my goals. My values.
As it turns out, I was onto something. In a recent New York Times article, writer Cameron Walker describes a psychological concept known as “self-determination theory,” which posits that people can rekindle a sense of motivation when they find ways of linking their to-do list to the principles they care most about.
“When you connect the things that are important to you to the things you need to do — even the drudgeries — you can feel more in control of your actions,” writes Walker. “What do you love about…
