## 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. * We enjoy the activity itself. * "Happiness now", not just at the end. * Unlocks a state of deep concentration known as flow. * Practicing 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. And it feels good. --- ### Personal vision How we'd like to spend our limited time. - activities we'd like to be doing - milestones we'd like to pass - journey-based internal motivation --- ### Meaning When your actions have positive impact on others,
it gives them a deeper meaning. - supporting the greater good feels rewarding - helping others, - being part of something bigger, - creating a legacy - it creates a strong and lasting motivation -V- ### Group vision Cooperation of individual visions. - working together helps the group - it also boosts one's own potential > 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- #### 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 - perfectionist who loves creating nice and clean software - persevering problem solver, especially with mysteries in tech - open-minded and attentive listener -V- #### Weaknesses - introverted, social interactions are taxing - cautious in opinions I spent way too much time fighting my social skills. -V- #### Opportunities - switch jobs for... - better fitting role (SW developer) - higher pay - different tech stack - getting back to distributed systems - contribute to an open source project - build specific expertise on one topic - get more exposure, share knowledge through talks and blog - ... -V- #### Threats - changed role or job - boring / stressful / annoying - annoying co-workers / toxic workplace - lower pay / long commute - having to use Windows - more exposure leading to personal attacks -V- #### My Observations - my SWOT felt misaligned with the current career (coding vs. people management) - Threats already applied to the current situation Change was apparently needed + low risk. --- #### 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, wrote a cool master's thesis - became a team leader - self-hosting my services via VPS - extracted ERP legacy tax functionality via a strategy pattern - 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- ### 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.

--- ### 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 for your life is nice, but acting on it is essential