Practice 7
Mining Intrinsic Motivation
Cultivating Connected Identity
Life unfolds moment by moment. Moments stitch together into stories. These stories can be seams of intrinsic motivation that we can mine for connection, meaning and inspiration.
When we understand motivation in our selves and in others, we are better able to align ourselves to take action.
Instructions
Select a shared intention / common topic
Choose a common topic of interest across the group and relevant to the team’s work e.g., access to clean water, protecting trees/forest, promoting nutrition, caring for elders.
Reflect on personal ‘source’ stories
Each member of the group thinks about a story in their lives when they encountered this topic and realized that it was important to them / others :
When did I first encounter this topic? Where was I? What was I doing? Who was I with? Why is it important to me now? Why is it important for others?
Share stories in a group
Each member of the group is invited to share voluntarily their source stories of motivation. After each story, the group is invited to appreciate, discuss and ask questions.
What about the story can I connect with and appreciate? How does this story inspire me?
Look for gems of inspiration & possibility
After everyone has had an opportunity to share there story, the group considers the common characteristics or themes across them.
Do the collection of stories open up new inspiration and possibilities for the group?