A while ago, I remember someone asked what motivates me. What is it that drives me to do my best? What fuels my fire?

This seems like a simple question, but for me, it is actually quite complex. There isn’t really one specific thing I can pinpoint that motivates me.

Instead, my motivation is dependent on several factors-the people around me, the responsibility I am given and the level of trust that I can get the job done.

The answer to this question is different for everyone. For example, some people are better athletes when their coach yells at them, but others will essentially shut down and not try.

However complex this question may be, after some thinking I finally came up with a couple of things that never fail to get me motivated.

The first is the belief I will fail. Rather than allowing this to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, I use it as ammunition to complete the task at  hand and do it well.

Take my motivation behind writing, for example. Six years ago, if you had told my English teacher I would be writing columns for Technician, she probably would have laughed. She didn’t even think I was capable of taking advanced courses in high school English.

Yet here I am, six years later, doing everything she thought I would never do.  I made some of my best grades in English classes and I love writing.

While the memories of my eighth grade teacher are now distant, they gave me the spark to do everything I could to prove her wrong. My next point leads to what motivated me to keep the fire going.

Sometimes, it is not the belief I will fail that motivates me-rather, it is the belief I have the ability to be successful.

I don’t think I would have pursued writing any further than the occasional essay for class, had it not been for English teachers supporting and believing in me to produce great work. I’m not saying they thought I would be the next Shakespeare, but the way they supported and improved my writing in the early stages gave me a reason to keep doing it.

It is a little easier for me to be motivated with positive reinforcement, rather than having someone tell me I will fail. I typically find it easy to give up when someone says I can’t do something. However, knowing there is someone who would be disappointed in me if I were to fail is enough motivation for me to get the job done.

I have found there are plenty of people in society who believe I will fail. There is certainly no shortage of motivation from that area. What is most important, though, is that you find what fuels your fire so you can keep your motivation burning.