Step 3: Finding Motivation

Art Credits: Landschaft mit Flusslauf (1910), Curt Herrmann (German, 1854-1929) via Artvee.com

Leading with Steady Action in 2025

3 minute read

If this is your first time reading, welcome! This is simply a regular communication from me about a topic that demystifies leadership and personal development. Regular readers, thank you for reading! 

So often, we wait for motivation to strike before taking action. But you don't have to wait. Motivation is something you can build. This month, we'll walk through one way to build motivation for your personal development project. 

I’ve been noticing that motivation lives in the body, and how we can spark motivation by aligning our head, heart, and gut. I recently heard this described as “mind-body unity,” and it made me wonder: could we intentionally motivate ourselves to build meaningful lives by (re)connecting with our deeper values and strengths? So that's what we'll try to answer this month, but first...

Recall where we’ve come from in newsletters this year:

Step 1: Chose on an area of your life to develop

Step 2: Prepared a “workspace” for this development project

Now, we've come to Step 3: connecting to your values to find motivation for your development project.

[Lesson] What are values?

I recently tuned into an episode of the 10% Happier podcast, where Dan Harris interviewed psychologist Ellen Hendriksen. Around the 45-minute mark, she discusses how values are foundational to both self-acceptance and meaningful change.

• A value is continuous. You’re never done. It’s not like a goal.

• Values are intrinsically meaningful. You’d care even if no one knew.

• Values are under your control. They are not contingent on anyone else.

• Values are freely chosen. They are not coercive or obligatory.

Values are universal and unique and useful

I want to introduce you to an amazing resource on the science of values and strengths: the VIA Institute on Character. Here you can deepen your understanding of your own unique blend of values and find tips on putting them into action. The original meaning behind the acronym VIA is "values in action," aka character strengths. 

According to the VIA Institute, "In the early 2000s, something groundbreaking occurred in the social sciences: Scientists discovered a common language of 24 character strengths that make up what’s best about our personality. Everyone possesses all 24 character strengths in different degrees, so each person has a truly unique character strengths profile. Each character strength falls under one of these six broad virtue categories, which are universal across cultures and nations.

Character Strengths are the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave."

Just look at that list! We ALL have these 24 character strengths available to us! These are like muscles we can build and use for things that matter to us. We each have about 5 of these that we are extra skilled at using. These strengths are under the surface, so you may not even know you have them! When I first learned mine, I was surprised and delighted to see what came to the surface.

I can - and do - use these to find motivation to work on making my dreams a reality. It’s incredibly empowering. You can do this, too.

[Tool] Using your strengths to find motivation for your project

What: Apply the VIA Character Strengths to your development project

Why: To find motivation to work on what’s important to you

Time: 30 - 60 minutes

Instructions (also available in this online template):

1. Find a space where you feel relaxed and open-minded.

2. Choose one of the options below to learn more about your values and/or another way of connecting with your values.

   1. Peruse the 24 character strengths (5 minutes)

   2. Take a free survey to explore your own strengths (10 minutes)

   3. Get the Total 24 Report for more in-depth results and support: (20 minutes, $49)

3. Soak in your own strengths / values (10+ minutes).

4. Bask in the sun of your values and strengths (timeless)

5. Revisit the area you chose to develop in Step 1 (5 minutes)

6. Update it to reflect your value(s) and perhaps answer the question “what do you want, really?” (10+ minutes)

[Example] An updated development project

Here is an example of an updated personal development project (step 6):

I want to help people connect with the people and things they love. I want to attend music and theater productions for inspiration. I want to use that inspiration to create social experiences for friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and people who feel disconnected. I hope these experiences will:

1. remind us how good it is to have fun and relax with others, maybe in a different way that takes us outside our routines, and

2. make it easier to get together the next time

Additional reflections on how this works: I feel more motivated to act on this idea now that I’ve connected it to my strengths/values. I feel more comfortable taking a next step. The next step I see right now is to ask my neighbors for their ideas on how to create more of a sense of community on our block, which I can do on an upcoming weekend.

There. See how connecting your project to your values can help you find motivation and feel more comfortable with taking the next step?

Art Credits: Landschaft mit Flusslauf (1910), Curt Herrmann (German, 1854-1929)

There are a number of layers to consider when applying this tool. I offer individualized support.

A leadership tip

Things can end up feeling misaligned in our lives when we aren't making space to honor our values, which can hinder our motivation and stall our progress working on what is important to us. The next time you feel stuck, consider checking in with yourself and asking, "What value is not being honored right now?" Then see how you can bring that value into the situation. 

My services

Individuals and Pairs

- Using assessments to aid in understanding yourself, your relationships, & your actions

- Relationship building

- Job transition strategy, planning, & action

- Executive & leadership coaching

Team and Groups

- Delivering team-building workshops & training

- Support for leadership development programs

- Keynote speaking on leadership development topics

- Teaching courses on topics connected to leadership

Interested? Email lindsay@lindsayread.com or visit lindsayread.com 

Thank you for reading!

As a reminder, next month's topic is how to see your inner strengths and use them at the right time. What parts of you can you activate to start taking action?

Lindsay Read Coaching, LLC

Leadership Development

Coaching | Teaching | Facilitation

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