OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2014 (Australian Version) | Page 25

FIONA
COSGROVE

THE 3 THINGS
THAT DRIVE US

PART 1

wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au

( Wellness Coaching )

OL

CONTR

Fiona Cosgrove explores one of the top three things
that most people crave in their life – control.
he subject of motivation is a long,
complex and incredibly interesting
one. In fact, even defining what
motivation is can be tricky.
The meaning of the word is derived from
the verb ‘to move’, which suggests that
motivation is all about action and drive. Yet
in its purest form, we can also relate
motivation to what gives our life meaning or
to what we, personally, strive towards.
Current literature contains some great
ideas on what people, generally, desire
and there appear to be three common
elements that keep cropping up. One of
them is the need or drive for control
within our own life.

T

1. Control
Control is sometimes also called ‘selfdetermination’. Or sometimes it’s
labelled ‘autonomy’.
The concept of ‘control’ typically refers to
our desire to be in charge of our own destiny,
both in the future and on a daily basis.
When this control is taken away from
us, and things go wrong we are often left
with a ‘victim mentality’. At least, if we
make a bad decision then it was our own
doing, and our own responsibility.
Self-responsibility is what is needed
for people to make choices that create a
good life for themself.
Our sense of control is often taken away
when we are not consulted about important
decisions – be that at work or at home.
When it feels like we have no say in what will
happen or is occurring, or when someone
deemed more expert tells us what to do
without taking our feelings into account, we
can feel bypassed and undervalued. This
tends to create a sense of despondency and
a lack of, well, motivation!

How to regain self-determination
The solution lies in making our own
decisions rather than looking to someone
else to do so for us.
In the area of health and
wellness
this
happens
constantly. We know what we
should eat, what we should
(or shouldn’t) drink, what’s
good for us, what’s bad for
us, what to avoid... yet,
many people actually feel
disempowered