Failures. : Cycle of Success, Part 3

Recap: In the last part of this series, I shared how IMs (Intrinsic Motivations) lead us to people, and people provide an environment for EMs (Extrinsic Motivations) to be exchanged.

Being that this is a cycle, obviously we have to keep it going. But what happens if we don't? I call them failures.

Failure to start.

If you aren't being motivated intrinsically, the cycle never really starts. You may occasionally find/meet people, and EMs may be attained, but those relationships will likely be weak and the EMs will likely be inconsistent and infrequent. If you're facing a failure to start, it's good to shape your IMs.

Failure to form.

If you're intrinsically motivated, but not acting on that motivation, you may have a failure to form. You may not be forming strong relationships because people can see that you are not moved to action by your own motivation. When you are uncentered/off-center, people can feel it, and a strong sign of someone being off-center is their inability to be moved to action by their own motivation. People will stick around because they see you are motivated, but something is off. Those relationships may not fully form, and in return EMs (similar to a failure to start) will likely be inconsistent and infrequent.

Failure to inform.

If you are intrinsically motivated and have formed strong relationships, but feel a lack of extrinsic motivation, you may need to make it clear to your people/circle what your extrinsic motivators are. If they don't know, they can't provide. Inform them. You likely have people that are more than willing and happy to further motivate you, but they are currently unable to because they are unsure of what motivates you extrinsically.

Failure to invest.

If you are intrinsically motivated with a strong circle of people and are frequently/consistently extrinsically motivated, but feel stagnant, you may be failing to invest. Investing your EMs back into your values is what keeps the cycle moving, and if you aren't investing each time an EM is received, then your values aren't rooting any deeper. The cycle grows each time it goes around. Rooted values = clear IMs = more people = greater EM = deeper rooted values = etc.

To finish off this series, I wanted to share that when writing this, I realized it is not necessarily a cycle of success, but rather a cycle of centeredness. Doing these things help keep us in line with who we believe and say we are. However, while not all centered people are successful, all successful people are centered.