More on motivation.

This comment came in on yesterday's post and I think is really worth discussing:

"What do you do when you lose the motivation? Or when your day job becomes too routine and you lose the ability to jump out of bed each morning and be excited about your job?"

I would say there are a couple of different things to consider here.

First would be that old addage "life is a sine wave" and has its highs and lows. Jobs can certainly be the same way. I can think of times in my job I have felt this way, but the periods were short and do not define my career. If this is a short term event, you should look for ways to bring the routine to an end and bring excitement back into your career.

Second is to ask us to determine the root cause of the loss of motivation. Is it the job environment? If so, consider switching environments.

Or is it internal? I am a firm believer that we control our own happiness and thus our own motivation. If the root is internal, we need to find a way out ourselves. Here is a quote along these lines that I saw at our conference today:

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven" - John Milton

TBL: For the most part, we control our own abilities to be motivated and need to take charge. In the rare events when an external person or aspect is the cause, we need to either remove ourselves from the situation or find another way to cope.

Thank you to the anonymous commentor. This is a topic that all of us face at different times and we should all spend some time thinking about.

Motivation to learn.

I took a few days off of writing. Sunday we held Liz's graduation party and yesterday was recovery time. Today Bart Johnson and I flew to LA for a conference on teaching Intro to Engineering. I finished up the thermo class this morning before we left. It was a great experience for all of us. Throughout the class, one theme that kept coming back was that for quality learning to take place, the person doing the learning must be motivated to do so. Think back on your best learning experiences. Did the teacher get you motivated? It is the case when I look back. And now, as a lifelong learner, I find that my own motivation is the key to my learning.

My future students will have me putting their self-motivation front and center in our time together. I believe it is the best way to make learning stick.

TBL: As with anything in life, our motivations drive our success. It is quite true in learning.

Practicing etiquette.

The other night we went on a dinner cruise on Lake Superior. 25 students, Amber, Angie and I had a great time seeing the port and eating prime rib. During the meal I overheard several people talking about fork placements on the table setting and other associated etiquette things they learned in our professional development class. Etiquette is an important thing to practice. Not making a fool of ourselves at company dinners or business lunches with clients is huge. Do you know your etiquette? Do you practice? If not, pick up a book at Barnes and Noble and find some opportunities to sharpen your skills. A little effort is far better than a huge embarrassment.

TBL: Being a professional has lots of different aspects. We need to learn and practice all of them.

New Engineers and gaining confidence.

Following is a comment published by a new engineer on an earlier blog posting:

"This is something I struggle with everyday. I work with people that have all kinds of experience and background. As I take on more projects, learn more about the process, and solve more problems, my confidence is slowly building. I just have to keep reminding myself....I can do it."

TBL: We all need to remind ourselves that we can do the challenging tasks, but realize that sometimes it is going to seem overwhelming.

Today's Bottom Line comes from Angie. Angie teaches 3rd grade.

"TBL from my room today : don't sit across from someone who says their tummy doesn't feel good...

Yep - puker in lunch - right across from me."

She doesn't get paid enough to do her job!

Good News.

There is a private non-profit organization called Project Lead the Way that has established an engineering curriculum for high schools. It is a high quality curriculum that has swept the nation and is giving high school students an opportunity to learn about engineering before they get to college.

This coming year Grand Rapids, Deer River, Greenway, and Nashwauk-Keewatin high schools will have PTLW for their students. ICC Engineering is a partner and we will be looking for practicing engineers and former grads from these high schools to be mentors.

TBL: The good word of engineering is spreading.