Not so long ago, I talked to a group of people at Atlantbh about our key competencies. It was a diverse group that included our CEO, COO, managers, and engineers. One of the things that everybody mentioned as an important competency was drive.
Drive is a word often mentioned in many motivational/business articles. Still, when I ask people how they would describe drive and what drive means to them, answers vary a lot.
One reason for multiple answers is that drive really is a complex term that can not be easily translated or explained. In some ways drive is that X factor, something that you recognize while being in contact with another person, something that makes you learn, speak, laugh, ask questions, do things.
Being human means having a drive, but finding out what exactly drives us is not always easy. Do you know what drives you?
Money, status or popularity could be your motivation, but that is probably not where your drive lies. The human mind is complex and sometimes our drives come from unknown and weird places, but being unable to understand why we are motivated to do something does not mean that we can’t recognize and live our drives.
So how can you stop overthinking and recognize your drive?
Breathing is always a good start, so take a deep breath and just start doing something. What do you do?
Perhaps you’ll start reading a book, talk to other people, bake, solve problems, google interesting stuff. The options are endless and each choice tells you something.
If you start reading about technologies or what is happening on Mars, your drive probably lies in researching and using new technologies. Perhaps you find yourself looking and exploring different websites. If it’s design you’re interested in, maybe you’re a potential UX/UI designer, or if you find yourself checking if everything is working maybe testing is what drives you.
Also, be aware of your thoughts when you daydream. To what place do they take you?
Our dreams tell us a lot about ourselves. If you’re a superhero in your dreams, your choice of super-power could mean a lot. If you’re more like the Iron Man or the Flash, then your drive probably lies somewhere in the sciences.
What would you do if money was not an issue?
Yes, money is important, it would be hard to live without money, but setting ‘earning a lot of money’ as a goal could only make you worsen your performance. So, ask yourself what would you be doing if money was not an issue.
What bugs you to the extent that you spend the whole night thinking, asking questions, coming up with different solutions until you find what you’re looking for?
This question is an important one. The thing about drive is that it gets under your skin when you see challenge and doesn’t let you go until you’ve overcome the obstacle.
What would you like to master?
Observing yourself as you become better at something is actually satisfying and fun. Challenges can be frustrating, but success is powerful. Think about what successes were most fun and satisfying for you.
I am working as a Talent Manager in Atlantbh for the last 2 years and during this period I came across a lot of different people in Atlantbh. One thing that all Atlanters have in common is that they are driven. Some people are into products, some into new technologies, some into solving difficult problems and some into something else, but no matter the role, when an Atlanter gets a task, you can be sure that they will take 10 steps back and forward to consider every aspect of that task and how it will affect everything else before completing the task in the best possible way.
I love working with people and one of the reasons is feeling the energy that comes from peoples’ drives. With all this said, I encourage you to discover what is it that drives you and embrace your drive.