When we love our jobs, we expect to be motivated to always do exceptional work; to be enthusiastic and filled with energy and ideas, right? Not necessarily. Conversely, when we hate our jobs, that’s when we underperform, are slothful and execute poorly, isn’t it? Perhaps not always. Motivation, like inspiration, doesn’t inevitably strike when it is most convenient or useful, and even when we are in love with our jobs, we can sometimes find ourselves lacking initiative. How can we light that elusive fire underneath ourselves in both the best and worst of circumstances?

Motivation is something that must constantly be striven for; we can’t expect it to automatically appear just because we’re experiencing career satisfaction, according to best-selling author and Patriarch Private Equity CEO Eric Schiffer. Even when we’re passionate about our careers, we can let ourselves become complacent or even bored. It’s critically important to maintain a spark of ambition and creativity about everything we do in order to succeed and advance to the next level.”

Boredom can strike even when we’re in the midst of utter satisfaction. Every job, even the most glamorous, has frustrating and/or tedious elements that can take discipline to negotiate. Sometimes, getting used to a job can lead to performance complacency. So how can you get that spark of industry back?

Andy Warhol once said, “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” In other words, don’t idly wait for motivation; keep working until it happens.

According to Eric Schiffer, motivation isn’t something that the best of us have and the rest of us don’t; everyone has to work at it. The important thing is to never let yourself get into a rut – always move forward.

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