Values. : Cycle of Success, Part 1

In organizational psychology we talk a lot about motivation. Intrinsic being motivation that comes from within (I refer to this as inspiration) and extrinsic being motivation that comes from external sources. We talk about them being separate from one another, but in writing a final paper last semester, I noticed that they really work together. I wrote it out in a theory that I call the "Cycle of Success." In part one, I'll share with you the 4 parts of the cycle, how each part pours into the next, and 3 steps to organize and apply your values in a way that can help shape your intrinsic motivations. By the end of this series, you'll see why I call it the Cycle of Success, and also be able to formulate a personalized cycle. To give you an idea of the big picture so you can better understand each part as you read, I'm going to first share the cycle. - Starting with your values, the cycle moves to intrinsic motivations, then to people, next extrinsic motivation, and back to values. Those are the 4 stops; Values, Intrinsic Motivation, People, Extrinsic Motivation.

Our values form our intrinsic motivators, which motivate us in ways that allow us to influence others. When we influence others, we connect with people who can in turn provide us with extrinsic motivation. The key then, is reinvesting those extrinsic motivations into further rooting our values. - Our intrinsic motivation becomes stronger, our network of people grows, and we have more opportunities to gain (and give) extrinsic motivation.

Organizing and Applying Your Values: Step 1: Identifying Your Values I started by writing down my top 5 values. Do this honestly, as some values you identify in yourself you might feel are "bad" values, but that doesn't mean your intentions behind them are always bad. In writing my top 5 values, I started with a values test online to get a general idea of where I fall. Then, with those results, I identified a clear top 5. My top 5 values came out as follows: Religion, Pleasure, Control, Challenge, Authenticity. I had a hard time coming to terms with pleasure and control, but when I wrote out what about them I valued, I realized that while they could take a turn to bad intentions, my intentions behind them are generally not such. Step 2: Clarifying Your Values Next, I took the time to clarify what I value about each unclear value. Pleasure and Control were unclear to me, and Challenge I wrote out so I could have a better understanding of how it plays into my intrinsic motivations:

- Pleasure: I value pleasure in my life often in the sense that I place effort into doing things I love. If I don't love it (or find pleasure in it), I often don't go to great lengths to make it happen. - Control: I value control in my life by being in control of my life. I like the security of being in control of and responsible for the decisions I am making. If I'm not in control of my situation, I often have a hard time giving 100%. - Challenge: I value challenge in my life when it provides me with opportunity to grow in a way that I strive to grow. If I don't desire the growth that a challenge provides, I will often find a new way to challenge myself that supports the growth I desire.

After clarifying what is unclear, then write where the clear values appear. In other words, why you value them. I found it is good to have record of these values for reference:

- Religion: I know who should lead my life and I know what is in store for me when He does. Religion is the one value that is non-negotiable in my life, and when I am unintentional to place it first, I quickly notice how the outcome is affected.

- Authenticity: In my relationships and interactions with people, I place extremely high value in the authenticity of a person. Likewise, I try to be authentic in the things I do, seeing that I value it in others. To be clear, these values do not ALWAYS determine who you are - they TEND to. When we fall short of who we are, that is a "Moment." You might find yourself having moments often, but these values tend to shape what you say/do more often than not. Step 3: Applying Your Values - Forming Intrinsic Motivation Once your values are clear, you can shape your intrinsic motivations. If you don't feel like you are capable of being an intrinsically motivated person, don't worry, there is hope. You likely either don't have set values to base decisions on, or you don't make intentional effort to let your words and actions reflect what you do value. If you can't identify 5 core values, start by choosing some. They are up to you, just make sure your words and actions reflect them. Shaping your intrinsic motivations can be easy if you are already an intrinsically motivated person. In this sense, you are simply identifying how your values play into your intrinsic motivations. However, if you aren't currently intrinsically motivated, it may be more difficult. You might be searching for what motivates you intrinsically - and a great place to start is your values. My intrinsic motivations are as follows: Serving God's Kingdom, Influencing Others, Self-Growth, and Future Family. Each of these intrinsic motivations are influenced by 2 or more of my values:

- Serving God's Kingdom: clearly influenced by my value for religion, but also by challenge as serving the kingdom isn't always the easy thing to do, and authenticity as it keeps me true to who I am and what I value. - Influencing Others: is partly influenced by my religion as we are called to be in community and be difference makers. It is also influenced by pleasure as I enjoy being a positive influence in the lives of others, and control as influencing others requires me to lead myself well. - Self-Growth: influenced by control, self-growth allows me to prove to myself that I am in control of who I am becoming. Challenge is also a strong influence on this motivation as it can be challenging not only to decide what changes to make to who I am, but also find ways to implement those changes, then stick to them. I would also say religion plays a part in this as the places I seek growth tend to reflect the values of my religion. - Future Family: this motivation is influenced by all 5. Religion as I am called to build and grow a family. Pleasure as I find great joy in the thought of leading a family well some day. Control as I get to choose who to do life with and choose to provide and protect well. Challenge as growing a family will be an extremely difficult, yet rewarding challenge between managing an important relationship and raising children. Authenticity as the thought of my family encompasses the 4 prior values, pushing me to be the best version of me that I can be so I can be the best I can be for them. Because I understand my values and how they play into my intrinsic motivations, I am able to find motivation in small things as they pertain to my values, even if an extrinsic motivation is not provided in return. Your situation right now might not be what you love - my job and school are far from being what I love. But, I know they are growing me in humility and patience, giving me opportunities to have positive influence among co-workers/classmates, and are improving my knowledge so I can better provide for my family in the future. Through all of this, I can choose to serve the kingdom. Extrinsic motivation is out of the picture, but I am motivated by myself because the things I am doing align with what I value. Being happy with who you are and/or are becoming is motivating in itself.

Identify your values and implement them into motivating yourself intrinsically.