Element Description – Alignment
Staying on course. This is about knowing whether or not you’re going the right direction.
General Description:
This is about making sure the path you’re on is the right path, knowing when you’re off path, and knowing how to get back on that path when you get off track.
Essence Attribute:
“I feel like I’m on the right path.”
When this is high, you feel more engaged to invest and keep pushing, because you have confidence that the path you’re on will get you where you want to go.
When ranked low, feelings of uncertainty around whether or not the path you’re on will get you where you want to go will cause you to disengage and pull back and be reluctant to Invest more fully.
Attribute 1:
“I care about being on the right path.”
When this is high, you will feel more engaged because you have a higher sense of the importance of being on the right path, and that will motivate you to make course corrections as needed.
When this is low, you may tend to disengage because the effort and energy it takes to course correct doesn’t really feel like it’s worth it… it’s just not important enough to you.
Attribute 2:
“I know when I’m off path.”
When ranked high, your confidence that you’ll know when you’re off track allows you to be more bold and courageous—it causes you to take bigger steps.
When ranked low, the fear of getting off track and not knowing it can cause you to hold back and fail to invest or push forward, especially at critical moments.
Attribute 3:
“I know how to get back on the path.”
When ranked high, you feel confidence that if you find yourself off track, you’ll be able to quickly get back on track. This creates a sense of increased engagement and willingness to take big, bold steps.
When ranked low, the uncertainty about being able to get back on track can hold you back from taking big, bold steps and investing what you need to make real progress.
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Element Description – Impact
Making a difference. This is about feeling like you’re making a difference, and caring about the difference you make.
General Description:
This is about feeling like you’re making a difference. It’s identifying the impact of your efforts, and finding meaning in the impact you make so you have intrinsic motivation to keep going.
Essence Attribute:
“I feel like I’m making a difference.”
When this is high, you feel like you’re making a difference, that your investment and contributions matter. There’s an inherent sense of motivation and fulfillment to this that increases your engagement.
When this is low, you’re not sure if you’re making a difference—if the work you do really matters—and without a sense of this outcome, it can be hard to find the intrinsic motivation to keep engaging and investing.
Attribute 1:
“I care about the difference I’m making.”
When this is high, not only are you making a difference, but you find intrinsic value and meaning in the difference that you make. The difference you make is personally meaningful.
When this is low, even if you’re making a difference, you just don’t find a lot of personal value in the difference you’re making. You feel disconnected and distanced from that difference, robbing it of its motivational impact.
Attribute 2:
“I know how to know if I’m making a difference.”
When this is high, you experience added confidence in what you’re doing, because you know that if it’s working—if you’re making a difference—you’ll know it.
When this is low, you will often disengage and hold back, because you can’t be sure you’ll even know if you’re making a difference—if your efforts and investments even matter.
Attribute 3:
“I know I can make a difference.”
When this is high, you know that you have the ability to have a positive impact, and will feel drawn to invest and engage to do so.
When this is low, the uncertainty of whether or not you CAN make a difference may cause you to not even try, or to try less diligently.
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Element Description – Growth
Mastery and progress. This is about feeling like you’re getting better and making progress personally or professionally.
General Description:
This is about feeling like you’re getting better—like you’re developing and progressing, building competency and capabilities, and being motivated by that progress. It’s about recognizing that the things you do turn you into someone new, and being happy about the person you’re becoming.
Essence Attribute:
“The journey is causing growth.”
When this is high, there’s a deep sense of intrinsic motivation to keep investing, because you can see that it’s making a difference in who you are and what you’re capable of.
When this is low, the intrinsic motivation to keep investing suffers, because your investments here aren’t impacting the development of your identity—of your core strengths and abilities.
Attribute 1:
“I care about the growth I’m experiencing.”
When this is high, not only are you growing, but you find meaning and fulfillment from that growth, because it aligns to your larger journey of who you want to be and where you want to go.
When this is low, even though you may be growing and building strengths, if you don’t find meaning and fulfillment in that growth, it will lose much of its motivational power.
Attribute 2:
“My efforts require me to stretch.”
When this is high, the need to stretch, to push yourself, and to be challenged creates a strong intrinsic motivation. You have an innate need to stretch, and are motivated by those opportunities.
When this is low, you can quickly become bored, and can disengage simply because of the easiness of the way. When you aren’t in an opportunity that invites you to stretch, you stagnate.
Attribute 3:
“The growth I’m experiencing is relevant to my other journeys.”
When this is high, you will tend to be more engaged and have more energy to invest because you know that who you become and the skills and talents you build will be applicable and help you in other areas of your life.
When this is low, you may tend to invest less because the perceived value of the growth you experience here is limited to this context, and won’t necessarily help you in other aspects of your life.
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Element Description – Value
Rewards and recognition. This is about feeling like you’re getting enough value out of the investments you make. That value could be rewards or compensation or recognition. It’s about feeling like there’s an equitable exchange happening.
General Description:
This is about making sure you’re receiving rewards and recognition for your work that create extrinsic motivation to keep moving forward.
Essence Attribute:
“I feel like my efforts are worth it.”
When this is high, you will tend to invest more heavily and be more engaged, because you feel like the overall return for your effort is high.
When this is low, you may tend to disengage because the perceived value of whether or not it’s worth it is just not high enough.
Attribute 1:
“I find intrinsic value from my efforts.”
When this is high, you experience ongoing intrinsic motivation to continue, because you find intrinsic value in what you are doing and the progress you make.
When this is low, you struggle to feel motivated to keep investing and working, because you don’t find any intrinsic meaning or value in either the work or what you get from it.
Attribute 2:
“I get extrinsic value from my efforts.”
When this is high, you are incentivized to keep moving because there are adequate rewards to incentivize the effort, and those external outcomes push you forward.
When this is low, the absence of external outcomes or rewards make you wonder if it’s all worth it, and you tend to disengage and pull back.
Attribute 3:
“I receive recognition for my efforts.”
When this is high, you tend to keep moving, motivated by the recognition of others. This becomes a positive input into your Identity, increasing your engagement and desire to win.
When this is low, you tend to feel isolated and alone and wonder if it’s all worth it. You tend to have to only look inward for motivation, and that can sometimes struggle to be enough, causing you to disengage.
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Element Description – Renewal
Restoration, fun, and having balance. This is about feeling like you’re living in balance, and have time to renew yourself.
General Description:
This is about finding restoration and renewal to prevent failures or disengagement that come from burn-out, exhaustion and fatigue. It’s about not jeopardizing other important things as you pursue your goals.
Essence Attribute:
“I feel renewed and balanced in life generally, giving me energy to do the things I want or need to do.”
When this is high, your overall energy will be high, causing you to feel refreshed, renewed, and ready to invest.
When this is low you can tend to disengage, lacking the energy to really invest. You may feel distracted, consumed, or tired, causing you to not bring your best to what you are doing.
Attribute 1:
“My time here is intrinsically restorative.”
When this is active, you naturally engage more because the time you spend here is intrinsically restorative, energizing you and helping you find renewal.
When this is low, you can quickly become exhausted and need to continually turn elsewhere for restoration and renewal.
Attribute 2:
“I am able to find restoration.”
When this is high, you are able to stay engaged and motivated because you know how to get restoration when you need it, so that you can keep investing.
When this is low, you tend to disengage through exhaustion and burnout because you don’t know how to get the restoration and renewal you need to keep investing and moving forward.
Attribute 3:
“I am able to balance the load.”
When this is high, you are able to stay engaged because you can balance the demands of the work you need to do to achieve what you want to achieve.
When this is low, you tend to disengage from feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and exhausted. When you feel out of balance within a context or across contexts, you tend to disengage and pull back.