What Motivates You?

At work the other day I took a Agile Software Development training class (For more on Agile, click here).  About half way through the day, the instructor showed us a short video called, "The surprising truth about what motivates us." While I wasn't completely surprised with what was presented, it was really nice to be able define it in such simple terms.

What the below video shows is that for tasks above rudimentary cognitive skill, simple monetary rewards don't work.  It continues on to say that the three main motivators behind what we do are autonomy, mastery, and purpose.



I really enjoyed this video because it is the link between my professional life as a software engineer and my personal life as an endurance athlete.

As a engineer, I want to be a master of my trade and build high quality software that makes a difference in people’s lives.  Having the autonomy to control my own destiny is essential to being successful.  And as one of my friends once said, "I care more about the quality and features I deliver then what they can be sold for."

In running, the same applies.  I love running because I love trying to master something.  I enjoy long distance running more as it is something that you can continuously improve at. Running gives me great autonomy and the ability to chose my own adventure.  All I need is a pair of sneakers and I am ready to go.  I can run in the morning, I can run at lunch, I can run in the evening.  I can run on travel, I can run at the airport (though I recommend minimizing that).  Running has also been the cornerstone of my fundraising over the last couple years which has lead me to find my purpose.  The two now go hand in hand.

As life goes on, I am excited to see where else I can apply these simple principles.

What motivates you?

- Scot

Lombard st, San Francisco, CA
The Most Crooked Hill in the World

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