For many of us, when we’re young or starting something new, we’re all extrinsically motivated by something.

Whether that’s getting a fancy new job, finding a life partner, getting a certain amount of followers, buying a house, or wanting to become a millionaire.

But what happens when you achieve it?

You could either:

A) Set even more “stick and carrot” goals, which will leave you in a perpetual hamster wheel of “more”, or

B) Look inward to define the internal motivators that will allow you to feel fulfilled by doing the activity itself.

After a few months of returning from my year-long sabbatical, I was surprised to feel unmotivated again.

“How could this be possible!? I don’t have a team, I don’t have clients, and I have all the time in the world.”

In fact, I found that finding motivation was even harder than when I started my business five years ago.

I was no longer driven by rewards like money, vanity metrics, speaking gigs, or connecting with industry titans (in fact, I even walked away from $200k worth of brand deals.)

I was also no longer driven by fear, such as upsetting clients (since I have none), not making enough money, or getting punished by the algorithm (I gained subscribers even after not posting for a whole year).

Yet, I still had a deep desire to feel motivated.

You know, that feeling where you wake up excited to start the day, you have clarity on what you want to achieve, and you feel in line with your purpose?

In a quest to answer this question, I started to research more about motivation.

Here’s what I found:

The 5 Factors of Intrinsic Motivation

If you feel disconnected, disengaged, and uninspired, you likely lack in one or all five of these areas:

The Intrinsic Motivator Audit

Once I read this, I decided to answer each question, which led me to organize my thoughts like this:

This screenshot truly doesn’t do this justice. So I highly recommend you watch this week’s Youtube video, where I walk through the entire thing!

15 Things That Changed Since Doing the Audit

My intuition is usually right, but sometimes, I don’t know how to verbalize the gut feeling I get when something feels misaligned.

By doing the exercise above, I could finally put words to my intuition, reflect on what I truly wanted in this season of my life, and seek solutions to change my situation.

As a result, here’s an example of 15 things that shifted for me once I did this exercise:

1. My worth isn’t tied to whether people watch my videos or read these emails.
   

2. If people do watch my videos and read my emails, it’s a bonus, not an expectation. I feel even more grateful now when someone watches, reads, or comments.
   

3. I no longer struggle as much as a solopreneur.
   

4. I no longer get out of bed late because I’m excited to start the day.
   

5. I’m growing in ways that aren’t tied to whether I make money, whether my channel performs, or whether I meet certain people.
   

6. I launched this newsletter - which I LOVE.
   

7. I started editing my own videos again.
   

8. I’m not performing as much on camera.
   

9. I feel a sense of safety online and feel less misunderstood.
   

10. I have found more calmness being on social media.
    

11. I’m back to being consistent with my morning and health routine.
    

12. I regained my drive and ambition.
    

13. I don’t have “content ideas.” I now share my thoughts, stories, and experiences.
    

14. I’m looking forward to starting a podcast and making new friends in the process.
    

15. I love myself more.
    

🎁 A gift for you: FREE Notion Template and Additional Reflection Prompts!

As you can see, this simple exercise helped me see my work differently.

If you’ve been losing motivation and fulfillment, whether in your business, content, or life in general, I hope this exercise will give you a sense of direction and clarity — in fact, I made this for you! 👇

I made a Notion template for you to do your own life audit based on the 5 factors of intrinsic motivation. I’ve also included additional reflection prompts to help guide you as you work through the exercise!

Remember you need to have a free Notion account, and you’ll need to click on “Duplicate” to make your own copy:

If you do this exercise, I’d love to see it and read how it helped you.

I can’t count the mornings when I woke up not feeling motivated enough to get out of bed or the evenings when I felt deeply disappointed that I was not living up to my potential.

This exercise helped me express my feelings, clearly define which areas felt off, and develop solutions to bring me back on track.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, share your thoughts and tag me in your stories (@vanessalau.co), or respond to this email and let me know what you think!

If you liked this email, then you’ll love this accompanying video:

This video is a MUST-WATCH if you plan to do the audit I shared above! I give you some examples of areas in my life I’ve transformed by doing this same exercise. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading and watching this week’s video! As always, my goal for these emails is to share the lessons I’m learning and the resources that help me live a more aligned life.

I hope it helps guide you in the right direction, too.

Live life fearlessly,

Vanessa

PS: If you haven’t already, can you do me a favor and reply to this email? I’ve recently switched email providers, and your engagement will help my email deliverability (aka making sure my future emails actually make it to your inbox).

It can be as easy as replying with an emoji 🙂 Thank you so much!