When I worked in a big company, I never had much trouble feeling motivated to do my job. There was energy and activity all around me. There was always a deadline to meet. Everyone was busy doing something interesting, and the truth is, so was I. I really liked my job—most of the time. Granted, there was too much of it. And some of my co-workers weren’t exactly team players. And now that I think of it, I did have a boss or two I truly despised, but all in all, I stayed motivated to do well. Besides, NOT doing well would have been mortifying. At staff meetings I didn’t want to be the one who didn’t have an answer or hadn’t met my goals. In a department filled with overachievers there’s nothing like peer pressure to spur a little extra effort.
On the other hand, there were things I didn’t find at all motivating. I didn’t willingly vote for that “team-building” paintball outing the guys wanted so badly. But it was unacceptable not to go along, so I did. And once on the battlefield, I shot and got shot – like everyone else – until it started to really hurt. Then it dawned on me that behind our masks and other protective gear no one could tell who I was; we were anonymous! So I quietly found the ladies room – where, much to my surprise, I discovered a couple of colleagues already hiding out! All of us, refugees from the paintball war raging outside, were happily AWOL for the rest of the afternoon. Still, even with the chick chat, the experience was NOT motivating.
Thank goodness, I’m now running my own solopreneur business and no longer have to “go along to get along.” Like most of my clients, I love being able to do what I want, the way I want, for reasons that motivate ME. But what I’ve discovered is that staying motivated when you’re working alone is quite different from when you’re in a traditional workplace. You’re NOT surrounded by that activity and energy that feeds you. There’s no longer that peer pressure to perform.
Maybe you’re like me. Now that you’ve been at it awhile, it’s an effort to stay motivated. The excitement of having your own business has started to fade. Maybe it’s harder than you thought it would be. Maybe you even miss the casual camaraderie of the office, and the irritation you sometimes felt about having to “fit in” has been displaced by nostalgia for times that are better in the remembering than they actually were. Well, if that’s where you’re finding yourself these days, snap out of it!
