## Motivation -V- Why do we do the things we do? --- ### External motivation Carrot and stick; someone else sets our path. - activity feels meaningless - makes it easier to procrastinate - long-term: numbs our self-motivation --- ### Internal motivation We have our own target and we follow it. - progress feels more rewarding - brings good mood - engages creativity and learning --- ### Goal-based motivation We want to achieve something in the future. Two phases: 1. long displeasure from not reaching the goal 2. short rush of joy from reaching the goal - that quickly evaporates -V- **Pros:** it works! **Cons:** it causes us damage,
it is not sustainable Joy fades, requiring more demanding goals. -V- ### Hedonic treadmill 🔗 > Humans quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events. The reward for finishing a major goal
is not worth a long struggle to get there. --- ### Journey-based motivation Joy is found in doing an activity, not finishing it. * "Happiness now", not just at the end. * Unlocks flow, * flow brings contentment and mastery, * that in turn brings results. --- ### Flow State of deep immersion in an activity that... * is challenging * makes use of our strengths * matches our skills * is enjoyable. We tend to lose our sense of time. --- ### Meaning When your actions have positive impact on others,
there is deeper meaning in your work. Supporting the greater good feels rewarding. Meaning creates strong foundations for a lasting motivation. -V- #### Going beyond an individual - helping others - being part of something greater - leaving a lasting legacy -V- ### Group vision Cooperation of individual visions helps the growth of one's potential and boosts the entire group. > The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. --- ### TOOL: Personal Vision -V- What is the direction of your journey? What gets out of bed in the morning? -V- #### How to build a Personal Vision? 1. Personal SWOT analysis 2. List your Achievements 3. Analyze motivating activities 4. Define a Beta-Vision 5. Final Personal Vision --- #### Step 1: ### Personal SWOT

S

Strengths

W

Weaknesses

O

Opportunities

T

Threats
-V- Time to reflect on yourself! -V- #### Strengths - skills, traits and qualities you have - using them supports flow - personal vision makes use of these as much as possible -V- #### Weaknesses - qualities you lack; limitations and negative traits - using them retards flow - personal vision avoids them if possible These can be improved, but don't devote too much time to it. -V- #### Opportunities - possibilities today's world offers to you - using them supports flow - personal vision builds on them Only a few will be used. The rest needs to be rejected and banished: - to gain focus, clarity and mastery, - to avoid decision paralysis or regrets. -V- #### Threats - risks, possible negative impacts or scenarios - take them into account - recognize them and be prepared - awareness helps with facing a potential fear -V- ### My SWOT -V- #### Strengths - life-long programming experience, love building useful solutions - attention to detail, carefulness, looking for perfection; love creating nice and clean software - persevering problem solver; like to explore and solve mysteries in tech - open-minded and attentive listener -V- #### Weaknesses - introverted, social interactions are taxing - lacking in open confrontation, group arguments - cautious in opinions, not an 'influencer' -V- #### Opportunities - switch jobs for - better fitting role - SW developer? - higher pay - different tech stack - contribute to an open source project - use college degree (distributed systems) - build specific expertise, get exposure - share knowledge through talks and blog - contribute to the state-of-the-art -V- #### Threats - changed role: boring / stressful / annoying - changed job: - low pay / annoying co-workers / toxic workplace / long commute - having to use Windows - more exposure - personal attacks -V- #### My Observations - my SWOT felt misaligned with the current career (people management) - Threats already applied to the current situation Change was desirable and not even that risky. --- #### Step 2: ### Personal Achievements - things that brought you joy / you are proud of - provides specific evidence of your strengths - helps to gain confidence and think positively -V- ### My Achievements - finished college with a cool master's thesis - became a dev team leader - self-hosting the services I use via VPS - extracted ERP legacy tax functionality via a strategy pattern - built and coded a split keyboard - learned to type using the Workman layout - ... -V- #### My Observations - Nice! I did some cool things! - Very little of it was connected to people management --- #### Step 3: ### Analyzing motivating activities Find out what drives you; strengthen your vision.
Categories of activities: - bringing personal growth - creating legacy - building relationships - with deeper meaning
-V- #### Growth : Legacy : Relationships : Meaning An activity should ideally fit into multiple categories. Goal: find groups of activities that support each other. -V- ### My Activities - writing readable code, testing, refactoring - exploring new technologies and approaches - contributing to open source projects - learning through books and conferences - knowledge sharing through blog, mentoring, talks - working with colleagues - reviews, discussions - research of innovative solutions - solving problems, making software more useful ... -V- ### My Activities Grouped - collaborative software development (direct) - exchange of experience (learning & teaching) - research, experiments, investigation --- #### Step 4: ### Beta-Vision Finding a personal vision takes effort and time.
Finding a beta version is easier
so you won't procrastinate to start! -V- #### Answer these... 1. Favorite quote/idea that resonates? 2. Life values? 3. Fulfilling activities? 4. Meaningful activities? -V- ### My Beta-Vision - coding useful software on a daily basis, publicly - learning from others and sharing my knowledge --- #### Step 5: ### Final Personal Vision A few paragraphs of what you want to be doing, taking into account the analysis from the previous steps. -V- ### My Final Vision WIP --- ### Act Now! *How can you incorporate your vision in the daily life?* Starting small is fine, as long as you start! -V- ### My First Steps 1. Coding refresher: - **Kotlin** Koans - **Go** by Example - Learn **Go** with Tests - Personal **React** project 2. Fixing defects in the Android apps that I use (in Kotlin). -V- ### My Findings - starting small & early was great: - for "prototyping" the vision - to experiment stress-free - to avoid overthinking it - to figure out if I need to scale it out - I regularly experienced flow, improved my mood, raised my skills and really enjoyed doing it. - having a vision is one thing, but acting on it is also essential