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AureliZEN: 3 – Awakening Motivation in Others

January 1, 2025 AURELIS, Motivation No Comments

[For an introduction to the AureliZen series, goto AureliZEN: a Seminar Series for Deep Growth.]

Why ‘motivating others’ starts with you

Many leadership strategies focus on how to ‘get’ people to do things. We look for techniques, incentives, or persuasion tactics, assuming that the issue lies with the other person. But real motivation doesn’t work that way. You cannot force someone to be motivated any more than you can force a plant to grow. You can only create the right conditions.

This seminar turns the usual approach inside out. Instead of seeing motivation as something we do to others, we explore how it arises naturally from within them — and how we, in turn, can influence that process simply by the way we show up. The best way to awaken motivation in others is to embody deep motivation ourselves.

The key is empathy, openness, and presence — not manipulation or pressure. This is closely related to deep autosuggestion, where lasting change happens not through force, but through gentle invitation.

The role of empathy in motivation

People feel most motivated when they feel deeply understood and respected. This is why the best motivators are not those who try to push or convince, but those who see the other person deeply and connect with their underlying energy.

A crucial distinction:

• Sympathy makes us emotionally entangled. It can lead to overwhelm, confusion, and even collective stress responses.
• Empathy provides clarity and strength. It allows us to step into someone’s world without losing ourselves, offering understanding without becoming consumed by their emotions.

Empathy is not just a concept. It is an experience. When people feel truly seen, something in them shifts. Their own motivation starts to emerge from within, because they feel recognized in their depth.

Motivation as an open, ongoing process

Motivation is not something that happens once and is then complete. It is a continuous flow that can be nurtured or blocked by the way we communicate.

In every interaction, we either:

1. Increase someone’s motivation by engaging with them openly, with curiosity and respect.
2. Diminish their motivation by making them feel unheard, judged, or controlled.

For example, in workplaces, motivation often fades not because of the work itself but because people don’t feel valued. The same happens in personal relationships. When we feel unseen, motivation naturally decreases.

This idea aligns with deep leadership principles, where true influence comes not from control, but from creating an environment where motivation can thrive naturally.

YogaZen practice: Opening up to others

The physical experience reinforces mental openness in this practice:

• Standing posture, arms moving in large circular motions.
• This symbolizes opening oneself to others, energy, and deeper motivation.
• By experiencing physical openness, we invite a mindset of open communication.

Many people try to motivate through control, but control creates resistance. This practice helps us embody the opposite: trust, receptivity, and flow.

The power of shared motivation

Motivation is contagious. When people feel part of something meaningful, motivation expands without force.

Teams that share a deep sense of purpose tend to:

• Perform better with less external supervision.
• Experience less burnout and disengagement.
• Feel a natural drive toward their goals, rather than needing to be pushed.

This is why ‘artificial’ team-building events rarely work. They do not create deep connection. The real key to shared motivation is genuine alignment with a meaningful goal.

This principle is known as empathy beyond — not just conceptual understanding, but feeling the deeper motivation of another as if it were your own.

YogaZen practice: Partnered movement

One participant moves through a slow, mindful YogaZen exercise while another observes in silence.

• The observer is encouraged to watch without judgment, simply witnessing with deep attention.
• The person moving learns to experience being seen with openness rather than self-consciousness.
• This mirrors the dynamics of real motivation — when we feel deeply acknowledged, our energy naturally expands.

Lesson: Motivation flourishes when we feel truly recognized — not for what we should be, but for who we truly are.

The connection between motivation and self-efficacy

People feel most motivated when they feel capable and empowered. This is known as self-efficacy. The belief in one’s ability to succeed.

Leaders who inspire motivation:

• Trust people to take ownership of challenges.
• Avoid micromanagement, which kills intrinsic motivation.
• Show confidence in others, helping them believe in themselves.

Message: “I trust you” is one of the most powerful motivators. When people sense that their efforts matter, motivation flows without force.

YogaZen practice: Standing posture with deep grounding

• Participants stand, feeling their feet firmly rooted to the ground.
• With each breath, they visualize a deeper sense of inner stability and power.
• This reinforces the idea that real motivation is not external stimulation. It is internal confidence.

Lesson: When you feel deeply grounded, you naturally inspire the same stability in others.

Creating a workplace culture of deep motivation

Many organizations attempt to motivate employees through external incentives — bonuses, promotions, or performance reviews. However, deep motivation does not come from rewards. It comes from alignment with meaningful work.

A deeply motivating workplace:

• Prioritizes purpose — helping employees feel that their work has an impact.
• Supports autonomy — allowing individuals to take ownership of tasks.
• Encourages mastery — providing opportunities for growth and development.

When employees feel connected to something meaningful, motivation becomes self-sustaining. Leaders who understand this focus on support, not control.

Related topic: Inner alignment is key to both personal and professional fulfillment.

Invitation to explore motivation in others

Motivation is not about persuasion, manipulation, or control. It is about creating the right conditions for energy to flow naturally.

In this seminar, participants will:

• Experience the difference between forced motivation and real motivation.
• Learn how to communicate in ways that naturally awaken motivation in others.
• Explore the deep connection between self-motivation and motivating others.

Motivating others is not about ‘making them’ do something. It is about becoming the kind of person who awakens motivation simply by how they engage with the world.

Final reflection: What happens when you stop trying to motivate others — and instead, focus on being the kind of person who naturally awakens energy, purpose, and movement in those around you?