3. Self-Motivation

3.1 Achievement Drive

Achievement drive can be defined as a “personality trait characterised by an enduring and consistent concern with setting and meeting high standards of achievement.”

You may be driven to achieve by the pressure of others’ expectations (extrinsic motivation), or from within yourself (intrinsic motivation). Either way, your drive to achieve motivates you to succeed and excel in activities important to you.

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it

Why Does Achievement Drive Matter?

There’s this leprechaun called Murphy who loves to throw a spanner in our works. Do you know him? Because of his law that “anything that can go wrong, will”, life rarely goes according to plan – no matter how passionate or well-prepared you are. Quitters are his most vulnerable victims.

If you have a solid achievement drive, you keep your eye on the prize, while swiftly and creatively overcoming any obstacles in your path.

Simply put, the stronger your achievement drive, the greater your chances of success. Achievement drive is a pivotal characteristic that can help you achieve your dreams.

Research done by the University of Colorado at Denver Business School identified character traits that distinguished high performers in each type of job role from average to low performers. Achievement drive was a distinctive trait of high-performers, successful entrepreneurs, and leaders.

Achievement Drive Characteristics

What Strengthens Your Achievement Drive?

  1. If your parents encouraged you to be independent in childhood.
  2. If your successes led to praise and rewards.
  3. If you associate achievement with positive feelings.
  4. If you link achievement to your own competence and effort rather than luck.
  5. If you desire being effective and challenged.
  6. Interpersonal strength
  7. The desirability of the goal.
  8. The feasibility of the task.
  9. Your ability to set goals.

1. and 2. are extrinsic factors and cannot be changed in retrospect. The power to boost your achievement drive lies in 3. – 9. – all of which are within your control. 

How To Boost Your Achievement Drive

The ultimate trait of those with a powerful achievement drive is their unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Like a modern-day renaissance man, knowledge is a mark of distinction. Being open to innovation is your passport to the future.

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