What’s your core motivation style?

The percentages above tell you what your Core Motivation style is.  It’s possible that your personality fits with more than one of these but if you received a 100% in any of these categories, then that’s likely your motivation style.  

So what do these all mean?

Your motivation style can be determined using your Enneagram Type which identifies your dominant personality type.  Each type is described below: 

THE PERFECTIONIST: 

You strive for things to be perfect and in place.  You’re often pretty hard on yourself, especially when you know you’ve made a mistake.  You stand for what is right and good. You are a reliable person and incredibly responsible. You prefer structure and organization and disorder and disarray gives you anxiety.  

Your core values include: integrity and quality. 

You are motivated by goals, plans and checklists.  When you achieve something, you feel amazing.  When you don’t achieve something, you feel like a failure.   You can easily get overwhelmed because you’re trying to live up to your own high standards.  

When setting goals, the perfectionist should be careful not to set goals that are too lofty or unrealistic because they will experience emotional turmoil when those goals aren’t met.  There’s nothing wrong with having high standards because that means the quality of your work is top notch – but remember that imperfection is a part of life.  Show some compassion toward yourself if something doesn’t go exactly as planned.  

Examples of goals that a perfectionist may set for themselves include: 

• Organize books on your shelf by color and size
• Create and follow a weekly meal plan
• Establish a new morning routine
• Train for and compete in a sporting event

THE HELPER: 

You are driven by the need to help others.  You often know what others need before they figure it out for themselves.  You also have a tendency to put the well-being of others before your own.  You are friendly, warm, considerate but you can get angry when you feel like you’ve been taken advantage of.  

Your core values are: kindness, generosity, and empathy

You are motivated by receiving praise from others for your efforts and providing support to only those who you know will support you in return.  While it might be hard to ask for it, make sure that you are asking for support when working towards a goal and for a sign of appreciation from others when you’ve achieved it.   

When setting goals, the helper should incorporate ways to show as much love for themselves as they do for others.  

Examples of goals that a helper may set for themselves might include: 

• Check in on a close friend at least once per week
• Organize a dinner party once a month
• Establish a gratitude practice
• Volunteer your time to a charitable organization 

THE DOER: 

You are constant state of continuous improvement which means that you’re always looking for ways to do things better or be the best at something.  You learn from failures rather than letting them defeat you. You feel successful when you’ve accomplished a goal and have received respect from others for doing so.   Your mind works quickly and can get frustrated when dealing with others who don’t operate as fast as you. You are competitive but know that your personal success contributes to the success of a team which makes you an excellent teammate.  As long as your self-worth is in check, you are willing to put in the work and can literally accomplish anything you set out to do. 

Your core values are: efficiency, results and recognition

You are motivated by productivity (i.e. checking off boxes and getting stuff done), inspiring others to perform at their best, and the end-result.  You have high-energy and enthusiasm for getting projects done as long as the end-result will provide a benefit you. 

Examples of goals that a doer may set for themselves include:

• Obtain a new certification and use it when coaching others
• Complete a social media detox challenge
• Write a book
• Save enough money for a down payment on a large purchase

THE ARTIST: 

You have creative energy and are focused on intuition and feelings.  You have the ability to express your feelings and purpose which allows you to connect to others deeply.  You are highly attuned to yourself and your environment, and can be dissatisfied with being ordinary. 

Your core values are: authenticity, self-awareness, and purpose

You have a tough time achieving the goals you set because you’re not results-oriented.  You have a lot of great ideas but find it difficult to put them all into action.  Focus on the ones that align with your personal philosophy and you’ll increase your chances of successfully implementing those ideas. You prefer to focus on the journey (the process of getting there) rather than the destination.   You are motivated by sharing your experience with others so you may benefit from joining an accountability group where everyone is working toward similar goals.   You’re also motivated by creativity and doing things differently so don’t feel like you have to take the same approach that everyone else is.  Define what success looks like to you but then forge your own path to achieving it.   The journey is what you’re most interested in so just make sure you’re making forward progress and you’ll achieve success before you know it! 

Examples of goals that an artist may set for themselves include:

• Redecorate a room in your home
• Explore a new part of the world
• Spend 1 hour journaling every day
• Take an art-based class (painting, drawing, dancing, etc.)

THE THINKER: 

You are motivated by information and knowledge, and love being the one that others come to when they have a question about something.  You are the type of person that invests in a lot of research before making any decision (big or small).  You are perceptive, curious and self-sufficient which makes you very resourceful and a great problem solver.  

Your core values are: knowledge, objectivity, and independence

You prefer to work alone so you may not benefit from joining a support group to help you accomplish your goals.  As long as you have a solid plan for how you’re going to achieve your success, you’ll be self-motivated enough to accomplish the tasks you’ve committed to.   Even though you have the ability to deal with complexity, you prefer to keep things simple.  You also enjoy teaching what you know to others who are interested in the topic.

Examples of goals that a thinker may set for themselves may include:

• Max out my 401k
• Watch at least one documentary per week
• Create an online course in a specific niche
• Read 52 non-fiction books this year

THE FRIEND: 

You like to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and are motivated by having short and long-term plans.  It takes a while for you to trust others, but once they’ve established your trust, you become incredibly loyal to them.  You are the person that thinks of things that others may not consider and have a tendency to worry excessively.   You are attentive to your surroundings and work to minimize risks in everything that you do. You are team oriented and enjoy collaborating with others to complete a task but often are skeptical of those that you work with.  When you set your mind to something, you tend to fully commit to it and won’t stop until it’s done. 

Your core values include: security, belonging, and trustworthiness 

When setting goals for yourself, having a detailed action plan which identifies potential road blocks, and how you will address those road blocks, will significantly increase your chances of success.    You may also benefit from having an accountability buddy or group of individuals that you can rely on and trust completely.  

Examples of goals that the friend may set for themselves include: 

• Establish reoccurring deposits into a monthly savings account
• Improve self-awareness through mindfulness techniques
• Train for a marathon by joining a running club
• Set aside time to outline daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. 

THE OPTIMIST: 

You enjoy life at a fast pace and prefer to keep your options open rather than to committing to something specific.  You get excited about something quickly but then eventually lose interest and drop it.   You’re a dreamer and often focus on the end-result rather than the smaller steps that are required to get you there.  You find it difficult to sit still and often multitask because doing one thing at a time isn’t stimulating enough for you. You tend to take opportunities as they present themselves rather than creating opportunities for yourself.  You love variety and new experiences but you can also get bored easily which means you have a lot of unfinished projects

Your core values are: freedom, adventure, and spontaneity 

When setting goals for yourself, don’t be afraid to dream big (which shouldn’t be hard for you) but make sure that you’re in tune with reality.  Setting goals is the optimist’s jam, but accomplishing them is often difficult.  You are confident and enthusiastic but have a tendency to get unfocused, uncommitted and can impulsively change directions at the drop of a hat.   You will most certainly benefit from having a vision board which allows you to stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve.  I would recommend keeping your vision board simple and working toward a couple of things at one time in order to stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed.   When setting goals, set goals that align with your vision but are small and attainable.  That way you’ll be making forward progress, will remain engaged and will be less likely to change directions because you’re not seeing results. 

Examples of goals that an optimist may set for themselves may include: 

• Plan a solo international trip
• Do something outside your comfort zone every day
• Implement 1 new daily habit each month
• Finish decluttering 2 rooms in your home 

THE DEFENDER: 

You are strong and find it uncomfortable to show your weakness because that would mean that you have to be vulnerable.  You value being in control of all situations and are motivated by protecting others.  You are deeply caring and approachable but prefer to do things your way because your way will keep everyone safe.   You are confident in your abilities and can be very direct when you want things to move forward.  You often trust your gut instincts which leads to quick decision making.  You take the people that you love under your wing and fight to protect them and what they care about.    Defenders are highly influential people and have the ability to make a large positive impact on society. 

Your core values are: strength, justice, and control

When setting goals, you prefer to outline the actions for how you’re going to achieve them rather than having someone else tell you how.  You also tend to have an all-or-nothing mindset which could work in your favor if you’re trying to accomplish something that will provide benefit you or your loved ones.  If you don’t think something is important or worth your time, you won’t be motivated to spend any effort on it.  

Examples of goals that a defender may set for themselves may include: 

• Start a non-profit 
• Allow yourself to be more vulnerable
• Implement relaxation and deep-breathing practices
• Take on a leadership role at work

THE PEACEMAKER: 

You are motivated by harmony and acceptance.   You appreciate stability and while you may know how to deal with conflict, you avoid it where possible.  You believe that this world would be a much better place if everyone would just respect each other.   You may find it difficult to say no which can interfere with your own personal growth.

Your core values are: patience, tolerance, and diplomacy 

When setting goals, you prefer structured processes that are difficult to question.  You find it hard to identify your vision for the future and like when someone you trust tells you exactly what you need to do to accomplish your goal.  You find it easy to adopt new habits and create new procedures quickly because you aren’t resistant to implementing new things – especially if they provide benefit to you.  It’s important that you focus on expressing your emotions in relationships because your passive nature may be creating some internal dissatisfaction.   

Examples of goals that a peacemaker may set for themselves may include: 

• Incorporate meditation into your morning routine
• Be mindful and focus on being an active participant in your life rather than a spectator
• Declare your wants and needs to others
• Focus on making your own choices rather than deferring to others