A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. ~ Ayn Rand

Find your motivation? Sometimes that is far easier said than done.  I’m not sure I totally agree with Rand’s statement that creative people aren’t motivated by a desire to beat others.  I think we all want to win, or at the very least, do our best, and that desire is where you find your motivation.

See winning doesn’t necessarily mean beating others.  To me, winning is doing your best.  That is where motivation comes from.  When you have a big test coming up and you are motivated to put some serious effort into your studying, it’s because you want to win.  You’re winning knowledge and the tangible letter/number grade.  And seriously, who among us wasn’t totally psyched to find they had the highest grade in the class?

So where do you find motivation.  The best place to find it is from within, of course, but from where I’m standing – or sitting if we’re being 100% honest, wanting to beat others isn’t bad. The key is to not let that be your only motivation. So sure, strive to beat others, but more importantly, strive to beat you.  Find your motivation and get it done.