A pointed question that we have all asked ourselves, what actually motivates you? What gets you out of bed every morning? What pushes you to put in the extra effort when no one is looking? People have different motivations, for most, it may be to provide for their family, while others may simply be motivated to be the best version of themselves. Which category do you belong to? It is an important question to ask, understanding what pushes you is crucial in achieving the next step of your goals.
It is important to be honest with yourself, some are motivated by the goal of financial freedom, to be liberated of any material concerns. Money is often an extremely powerful source, some people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths for it.
On the other hand, some are motivated by achieving their best self, fulfilling their potential and believing that the financial rewards will follow. This relates back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and fulfills the self-actualisation aspect of the theory. People want to feel like they have been given opportunities to grow as individuals and it is incumbent on organizations to provide such platforms for their employees.
Understanding your fire is a component of self-awareness that is oh so important, in order to take the next step in our lives, we need to figure out what drives us. Only that, can we use motivation as a fuel to get us to where we wanna be. Ask yourself what truly motivates me? The simple answer would be "I work to put food on the table", but is it as simple as that? Perhaps, if you were truly honest with yourself, you may realise that you are indeed chasing the mirage of living up to your own expectations.
Research conducted by Princeton University shows that money can only buy happiness up to $75000 a year, thus the chasing of money as a source of motivation could very well dissipate and feel in vain. Those that are able to preserve their motivation are those that have a high level of intrinsic motivation, those that aren't concerned with extrinsic rewards like finances.
There is no disputing the importance of money but research has already shown that it can't buy happiness and what actually makes individuals happy is being self-fulfilling. Yes, we all work for a pay check and money is necessary to have a good quality of life. But once you have achieved that, what will be your source of motivation then?
Push your boundaries, tell yourself that you will give it your best shot even if the pay is lousy, because at the end of the day you are doing this for yourself. The pay may not come now, but if you keep giving it your all, someone is going to recognise your worth. If you are serious about achieving great things, you may want to have ambitions other than money to fuel you.