Motivation...or Something Like It

This was a wonderful Thanksgiving break, with good food and family. What did I do most for my short break? Why I sat on the couch in front of the TV and my Macbook of course! Honestly, between my physics class and all of the PRSSA stuff from last quarter, I wasn't motivated to do much of anything over break. But reading this post on PR Breakfast Club and talking about my life goals with my Dad, got me to thinking about what motivates me. I have never really thought about it before, partially because I was so distracted with busy work. However after some deep (and I mean DEEEP) introspection, I've arrived at the answer, the key, to what motivates me.

Competition.

I love it. It's not even a winning thing; I'm a good sport even though I'm no fan of losing, ever. But I want and often need to compete in some way shape or form.

I love the rush of it all. The drive to push yourself specifically against someone or something else and having a direct read of your abilities makes competition so exhilirating for me. I've even been known to compete when other people don't know its a competition.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a team player and have no problem staying out of the spotlight. Self-satisfaction is a much more important reward for me than external recognition [although any ONU PRSSA Exec will tell you that I like being right;)]. Friendly competition just makes things more interesting, even mundane things. When asked if I thought my internship could improve in anyway, the only thing I could come up with was that it would have been fun to have a little intern v. intern competition. Even a Scrabble (LOVE!) tourney would have sufficed.

Now like Keith said in the PRBC post, this is not the only thing that motivates me. But unlike Keith, not too many more things come to mind after about three others. Lucky for me, they happen to be fairly large things lol.

I think competition is a good motivator when harnessed appropriately and kept in perspective.

And yes, if asked, I will race you.