Rosie, your Key Motivator is rooted in your need to ensure your life is established and secure. You're driven by what experts call Stability.

You are concerned about stability in many different facets of your life. You take comfort in knowing you're prepared for your future and as such, take the necessary steps to make your life more predictable. Whether that means setting up a good savings account, educating yourself so you're prepared for your next job or child, or physically safeguarding your home with alarms or new storm windows, you do well when stability is in your sights. It's not that you can't handle adversity; it's just that you prefer to be prepared for it.

What this means about you
What does this really mean for you in your life? Research indicates there are 5 key motivators in life: Prestige, Stability, Connection, Experience, and Curiosity. This test measures you on all 5 of those motivators by giving you a score on the Motivation Scales. From the way you answered the questions on the test, we calculated — your Key Motivator — the thing that most often motivates you to get something done.

Your score on the Stability scale indicates that you keep a close watch on your personal sense of security, whether you find it by closely managing your finances, working hard to increase your knowledge and marketable skills, keeping your home safe, or making sure your body is in shape and ready to face life's challenges.

Your desire to be "safe and secure" may be an internal drive that you were born with or it could have developed through external influences that evolved through your life experiences. For example, your drive for Stability could have been reinforced in your childhood if your attention was brought to your level of security — whether you had an exceptionally stable or instable childhood in terms of home life, health, travel, and others. Everyone is motivated by Stability to some extent, but the way in which this manifests itself is dependent on an individual's psychological make-up, and for you, it's a driving force.

Many people around you will appreciate your reliability and admire your straight-forwardness. You are likely known for your strong sense of character which stems from your strong knowledge base, and sincere desire to be able to give people good, solid information — the kind of information you yourself rely on. You put your heart into creating a solid foundation for yourself and your family to grow from, and you are happy to share your knowledge and advice with others who have similar values.

While some people will show their appreciation by returning your favor, others may try to take advantage of your consistent and dependable nature. While you spend a lot of effort creating a safe environment for yourself and those you care about, try to identify those people who are gaining shelter from you that are not really your responsibility and rethink those relationships.

How this plays out in your life
When you have goals that are particularly important to you, you'll get closer to reaching them when you use strategies related to your Key Motivator. Remember, your Key Motivator is the dominant force that drives you to make big, and little, steps in your life. Your body and mind are more finely attuned to your Key Motivator, so learn to use them as a means to the desired end. To illustrate this point, we've created a scenario to show you where your Motivator can come into play.

Imagine that you are having trouble saving money toward a vacation this year. You've run the numbers, you've checked your calendar, you've called friends to accompany you, you've decided where you want to go, and yet, it's still not coming together. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to solve a problem you know you're capable of beating. Tap into your Key Motivator and see if you can find the solution to saving that money faster.

More than anything else, you know you're motivated by a sense of security. Learn to use that as the key motivator to help you take the vacation you've been dreaming of. If financial stability is your main concern, shift your thinking about what a vacation means for you. Reason with yourself that a vacation is more than frivolous time spent on frivolous activities. Research has proven that taking vacations is also an investment in one's mental and emotional health. When you look at it that way, it makes more sense and will incent you to work harder to save the money you need for it. When you shift your focus from the chore of saving money to the duty of saving money for a vacation sure to have long-term benefits for you, you'll find it much easier to do.

That's a little bit about how you can use your Key Motivator to your advantage. But remember, there's at least a little bit of all the motivators in each of us. While your Key Motivator is what you tend to rely on, you will fall back on others depending on the situation or circumstance.

Understanding what your top motivators and de-motivators are will allow you to be more competent in communicating your goals and desires. It will also give you more confidence and control over the changes that you make in the future. To fully exploit this knowledge, we've taken a look at how you answered all the answers on the test. Based on the 5 core motivations identified by research, we've generated your personal Motivation Map — a unique pattern of how your motivators fit together. Learn how to read it, and get ready to reach those goals that have been escaping you.

Stability: The Stability Motivation Scale measures the intensity of your needs to be safe, to understand cause and effect relationships, to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty, and to accomplish difficult tasks through skill. You scored 9 on the Stability Motivation Scale.

Connection: The Connection Motivation Scale measures the intensity of your needs to belong to a group, to have fun, to care for others, to be the center of attention, and to be publicly recognized for your efforts. You scored 8 on the Connection Motivation Scale.

Curiosity: The Curiosity Motivation Scale measures the intensity of your needs to be independent, to understand how things work, to have new and diverse experiences, and to explore your physical relationships. You scored 6 on the Curiosity Motivation Scale.

Experience: The Experience Motivation Scale measures the intensity of your needs to be attractive, to indulge in sensual pleasure, and to be stimulated by your environment or activity. You scored 6 on the Experience Motivation Scale.

Prestige: The Prestige Motivation Scale measures the intensity of your needs to be publicly admired, to win in competitive situations, to be in a position of authority, or to have enviable possessions or wealth. You scored 3 on the Prestige Motivation Scale.

How to use your Motivation Map
Your personal Motivation Map is unique to you. It is almost like a motivational fingerprint. Some people will score high on all 5 of the different motivation scales. That simply means that they are easily motivated by a number of different end-goals. Others might score the same number on two or more of the motivation scales. That simply means that they are equally as useful, or not, to you. And still others will score high on some scales and lower on others.

Understanding your scores on your Motivation Map is important. If you score high on 4 different scales, you know that there are at least 4 different baits you can use to motivate yourself to any given goal. In general, no one motivation is better than the other. But within a given situation or circumstance, you might find that one kind of motivator is much more effective than another.

For example, your Key Motivator is Stability. But it's possible that your Key Motivator won't work in some situations. Luckily, your Motivation Map provides you with alternatives. When your Key Motivator doesn't seem appropriate, or doesn't help you achieve a goal, look to your Secondary Motivator, your second-highest scoring motivator. Your Secondary Motivator, Connection, is a good backup when circumstance dictates your Key Motivator isn't enough.

Considering more than one of your motivators can lead to an even more fulfilling goal. Suppose a friend of yours suggests that you join a baseball league together this season. You want to do it because you like this friend and you think it might be fun. However, you have reservations about how dedicated you will be to practice for the games. Since you know you will have trouble motivating yourself to practice, now is the time to tap into your Motivation Map. In this situation, your Key Motivator may call on your desire to keep your body healthy through exercise — you want to keep your body in good shape so you can avoid getting sick or developing arthritis due to lack of exercise.

However, that may not be enough to get you down to the ballpark outside of your game time. Instead, try combining your top two motivators. If you add Connection to Stability, you might find discipline in thinking that not only do you want to keep your body healthy through exercise, you want to be part of a team, meet new people and have a new opportunity to celebrate when you win a game.

As with anything, the more you practice working with your Motivation Map, the more you will get out of it. When your goal to practice baseball is supported by your reasons for wanting to play — what you hope to gain from the experience — you will feel more driven to achieve your goals. This is true with ANY goal you set for yourself. Giving yourself more than one reason to stick to one plan or the other will increase you desire to follow through.

When you use your Motivation Map to focus your attention on setting goals and making decisions in life, you are likely to get more of what you want.

Interestingly enough, your Motivation Map can work backwards, too. Just as your top motivators will lead you to success, your worst scoring motivation can lead you towards failure. For that reason, it's just as critical you look at the de-motivator potential so you can learn how to avoid it in most circumstances. Remember, you can successfully tap into all the motivators in your Motivation Map. But if you're not succeeding towards a goal, you might need to make sure you're relying on the right motivator for the given circumstance.

Warning signs for de-motivators
Sometimes you have a goal that you would really like to reach, yet you keep getting off track, procrastinating, maybe even resenting the work you have to do to reach your goal. At times like these, it can be useful to check for potential de-motivators.

For example, as someone who is most motivated by Stability, your stress-level may increase if you you were playing a new card game (and didn't quite understand the rules yet), when someone at the table wanted to start playing for money. You hadn't built up any skill for this particular game, didn't really understand it, and the outcome seemed uncertain — except that you would lose money. Despite all this, you agreed to it.

Although most people would find this situation somewhat deflating, you are more likely to be turned off by it since the likelihood of meeting the goals you set out for is slim in this scenario.

The benefit in recognizing a scenario like this, however, is that now you can better weigh the consequences. Knowing that you're likely to not reach your goals, is it something worth doing anyway, or will it only lead to frustration? If you decide to move on to your next challenge, great. At least you'll know why you did. And if you decide to pursue it anyway, perhaps you can try shifting the focus of what you hope to achieve in a given scenario. Try changing your ultimate goal to something that can be achieved driven by your Key or Secondary Motivator. And if that doesn't work, you can use your new understanding of what drives you to remove de-motivating elements and give yourself a better shot at success.

Another factor that may contribute to your level of de-motivation is your rate of success or failure in attaining similar goals in the past. If you consistently succeed, you will be more confident and take on more challenging, yet still attainable, goals. If you consistently fail, you may find yourself avoiding new challenges altogether, or choosing goals that you know you will fail at, to remove the surprise of failing.

Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes, experiencing some successes and some failures. Generally, people tend to avoid those areas that they feel less competent in and seek those areas where they have met with success in the past. However, past failures do not have to foreshadow future failures. Now that you understand what drives you and your Motivation Map, you can succeed even in areas where you have failed in the past. Just remember to make your goals consistent with your Key Motivator and use the strategies outlined in the next section.

Goals are what result from adding structure to your dreams. However, not everyone gravitates toward "goals" as a way to achieve their dreams. Look through the following suggestions and allow them to inspire you, even if you don't implement every suggestion in your plans.

Define specific goals. When setting your goals, try to come up with a single sentence that encapsulates what it is you are trying to achieve and why it is important for you. By doing this, you are not only stating what you want to do, you are also building in your motivator. Say "I want to research investment opportunities because my financial future is important to me and I will fulfill my internal needs for stability in the process" instead of "I have to research investment opportunities because I am worried about my finances, and it's a chore that needs to be done". Build clear goals that are tied to your source of motivation.

Set your priorities. For the most part, people have a few active goals at any given time. To increase your ability to meet one or more goals, it is important to prioritize the things that you focus on in your life. Choose 3-5 generalized goals that you wish to put effort towards over the next 6 months. Make sure these goals are broad enough, and central enough, to your life to remain relevant over the next half year. Now draw a line around them and make them your top priorities. Choose to spend your time working toward these top priority goals and decline opportunities that distract you or take your time away from reaching your goals. Guarding how you spend your time will increase the likelihood of reaching your goals.

Set reasonable, measurable milestones. When you have a big goal that will take you a long time to complete, it is helpful to break down your goal into smaller milestones. This will decrease your feelings of being overwhelmed and give you an opportunity to pat yourself on the back along the way. Milestones need to be specific and measurable. For example, your major goal might be to find a new job that will satisfy your need for adventure through international travel. For a goal such as that, you may want to set up a milestone to "research 100 companies and narrow down the top 20 choices" or "meet with 10 people who have the job that I want" or "send out 5-10 resumes per week." Each of these markers give you the opportunity to congratulate yourself along the way for putting in the effort required to realize your goal.

Set aside time for your goal. Make sure that you stick to the program you have prescribed yourself. Schedule time to reflect on your goals, your progress to date, and what needs to be done next. Then make appointments with yourself to take action. Making time for your goals will keep you focused and actively engaged in your own success.

Strategies for success
Following, you will find a collection of strategies you can apply to your goal achievement process. Some of these strategies will be more appealing to you than others, and some of them will work better for some goals more than others. Come back to this list each time you are setting a new goal and let it help you brainstorm your approach.

Establish appropriate rewards. Giving yourself periodic small rewards may help you stay focused on your goal. However, it is important to make sure your rewards are in line with your goal's objective. For example, if your goal is to "tone my body through weight lifting and cardio because I enjoy looking and feeling my best," your reward for working out for 21 days without missing a day should be something that supports your goal. Instead of taking yourself out to a fancy, decadent, fattening meal, try buying yourself a new, cute, and flattering workout outfit! Your new workout duds will not only make you feel more attractive when you head out to the gym, they will remind you that you succeeded in meeting a past milestone and serve as a reminder that you can continue to succeed in the future with continued effort. Most often, your final reward will be your elation when meeting your goal and your enjoyment of the positive change that meeting this goal has made in your life.

Enlist the power of positive visualization. Begin by visualizing your eventual success. When you set out to do something toward your goal, imagine yourself completing the task successfully; let your subconscious mind tell you how you will best complete your objectives by imagining what success will look like and the steps you will take to get there. Next, create visual reminders to keep you focused on completing your goal. Try posting inspirational affirmations someplace where you will see them. Or, create a chart that maps your progress and keeps you going toward your goal (include your end goal in your visualization). You may even want to choose a good luck charm to keep near you while you are working toward your goal. All of these techniques create a "pull" toward your goal that will help keep you focused.

Paint yourself into a corner. If you haven't responded well to "pull" techniques such as positive visualization in the past, you may want to create negative consequences for yourself in missing your milestones. These are known as "push" techniques. You might tell your friends or family members what your milestone is and have them ask you about it from time to time. Or, you may look for someone who has a similar goal and create a goal-oriented buddy system, like studying together or working out together. You can create a competition around your goal with other people who are willing to compete. Create deadlines for yourself and tell other people. If you miss your milestone, you will have more than your own disappointment to contend with.

Keep a journal. Tracking your progress toward your goal by writing regularly in a journal can be a great way to keep your goal fresh in your mind, help you see clearly what is working and what is not working over time, and serve as a reflection of your past achievement upon rereading.

Find a role model. Find someone who has the behaviors that you wish to adopt through achieving your goal. Then, if you can, ask them to give you tips or tell you the story of how their admirable traits evolved. When you get into a rough patch while seeking your goal, ask yourself what your role model would do. Try to emulate their behaviors. If you can, try to spend more time around them and let their attitude toward your goal "rub off on you".

Create a success-friendly environment. Think about the physical space that you are in when you are working toward your goal. If you have a goal to "establish a daily yoga practice because it satisfies my need for experience," take a look at the space in which you do yoga. Is it clutter-free? Do you have enough room to stretch out? Do you have inspirational music? Are you frequently interrupted? Is there a time that would work better for you or your family? It is important that the place that you spend time reaching your goals is both consistent and supportive of your goal and that it is a place you want to be.

Things to remember while you are working toward your goal Working towards your goals is hard work and takes great effort — even if your goal is aligned closely with your Key Motivator. Make a list of these tips for achieving your goals and place it somewhere where you will see it daily. They will remind you to be kind to yourself while you are initiating change in your life.

Stay healthy. If you work so hard that your health starts to suffer, you will likely sabotage your efforts toward your goals by being less effective, happy, and present.

Stay strong through obstacles. Use one or more of the "Strategies for Success" above to keep you focused and determined, even when life presents you with obstacles.

Don't beat yourself up. If you lose focus or miss a milestone, chastising yourself might associate your goal-achievement process with failure. Instead, acknowledge your mistake and vow to get back on track.

View your goals as life changes. Your dream is something you will most likely want to maintain once it is realized. If you think of goals as part of a lifelong improvement process than a short-term fix, you will probably be more motivated.

Enjoy the journey. Keep in mind that your goal is a step towards realizing your dream and that realizing your dream is an exciting possibility. The more enjoyable your efforts are, the more your goal will flow toward you.

Don't rely on your willpower alone. Willpower pushes you to perform a task, no matter how arduous, but it may not always be enough to get you to complete the task. If you remember why you want to achieve your goal, rather than just what you have to do to achieve it, your motivation will help drive you toward your goal.

Acknowledge your successes. When you reach your goal, celebrate! Take time to acknowledge your success and feel good about yourself. You've earned it!

Raising the bar
Setting goals to attain your dreams is a commitment to improving your life that does not end when your goal is reached. Incorporate your success into your lifestyle and commit to maintain (or improve upon!) your success. If you have recently met a goal to lose weight before summer, now is not the time to slip back into a junk food habit or a couch potato. Maintain the positive change that meeting your goal has made in your life by continuing to eat healthy and exercise. Or, you may want to raise the bar and start a new goal to improve your physical appearance in other ways; perhaps you want to sculpt your body through strength training or overhaul your wardrobe to better flatter you. View this continued process as a lifelong commitment to the new and improved you.

The more you know about your Key Motivator, the more you will know about what will help you reach your fullest potential. Emode's "What Drives You?" test is just your first step to improving the way you think about your life goals and aspirations, so we don't want it to stop here.

To reinforce what you've learned about your Key Motivator and how to create personally relevant goals, we're going to send you 4 follow-up emails — 1 per week for the next 4 weeks.

During that time we will take a closer look at your test answers so we can tailor more advice to your situation, to your personality. We'll help you take your motivations test results one step further with advice on how to apply your Motivation Map to your friendships, the way you acquire knowledge, your career goals, and your long-term financial plan.

Look for your first mailing in one week!

Motivation theory
There are three main areas of motivation study: biological, behaviorist, and cognitive. The study of biological motivation tends to focus on changes in basic motivations, such as aggression, fear, sex, and hunger, when the brain is altered chemically or through other means. Behaviorists focus their study of motivations on observation of behavior responses given different stimuli. Cognitive theorists believe that a person's motivations are a result of their past experiences and their individual processing of the information provided through these experiences. Emode used a cognitive theoretical approach in designing the motivations test, especially drawing from the works of Abraham H. Maslow and David McClelland.

Abraham H. Maslow (1908-1970)
Dr. Maslow developed a self-actualization theory of psychology, which focuses on integration of the self. In his book Motivation and Personality, Maslow outlines a hierarchy of needs present in each individual that is composed of basic physiological requirements, love, esteem, and, at its pinnacle, self-actualization. He argues that the lower needs in the hierarchy must be met before the higher needs can be attempted.

David McClelland (1917-1998)
Dr. McClelland is well known for his work measuring human needs and motivation. In his early experimental work, he extended the research done with the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and cited conclusive evidence that an individual's needs change over time as a result of life experiences.

Emode's Motivations test development
Emode developed this motivations test using 118 questions created to measure 20 different motivation dimensions. Then, Emode performed a large-scale study to identify those questions that were most highly predictive of specific motivations and created a new, shorter test that could measure motivations with a high degree of accuracy. Finally, the motivations were grouped together into the five Key Motivators that comprise this test's result types: Prestige, Stability, Connection, Experience, and Curiosity.

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