Habits aren’t always bad, in fact, there are ways you can form good habits that can propel you into success. First, you need to figure out what makes you tick? What really motivates you? Is it family? Career? Money? Once you have determined what your true motivations are then you can make these driving forces a habit. All a habit is —is something you practice over, and over, and over again.

Let’s look at five common factors that motivate people.

Reward

Do you feel that every reward motivates you even more? Do you track your free miles to the point of craziness? Do you love video games that give you a prize?  

If so, you may be the type that needs an end goal. For example, if you complete a task, you get a reward like a glass of wine (If you work in one of those hip coworking facilities,  ha!) or a snack from the vending machine (like the rest of us). But what you really need to determine is whether you are chasing the reward or the feeling you get when you are rewarded. Remember, the process is what truly counts, not the end result. Focus on your progress and not your end result and you will find that your habits for success are healthy and progressive.

Desire to Be on Top

Some people are willing to go the extra mile and make sacrifices in order to be number one. They are willing to work long hours every single day in order to achieve their goals. (Longer hours don’t always yield the best results.) The question is –are you willing to make this a habit in order to motivate yourself to be on top? Ask yourself, “would I do this work for free?” If the answer is yes, then you have motivated yourself enough to do whatever it takes to be on top.

Helping Other People

One habit that is a truly double-edged sword is the habit of serving others. Some people are truly motivated by helping others (I happen to be one of those), but you have to remember that you cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. If this is a motivating driver for you, try to balance helping others while also taking care of yourself. Like they say, “you cannot pour from an empty cup.”

Passion

Passion is one of the greatest motivators of all time. Passionate people love what they do and are excited (and willing) to do more than they are asked. Have you ever been so passionate about something that you are willing to sacrifice your leisure time to focus on it? Passion can drive you each day to go after what you want in life and can help to establish the habits needed to accomplish your goals. If you have never felt passion, you haven’t lived.

How to Translate Motivation Into Success

Every day you wake up, write out a list of all of the things you want to accomplish that day. Limit them to 4 and place them in order of importance. Don’t leave the first one until you finish (unless some extenuating circumstance keeps you from it). Sticking to your plan of what you stated will give you confidence and the habit of doing what you say. This is the first step to understanding and fueling what motivates you and will help you determine your “why”.

You need to find out exactly what motivates you if you want to be able to achieve outstanding success in life. Without motivation, you will never take action and without action, you will never be able to reach your goals.