Motivation

I've written on my whiteboard at work that "the environment engages and retains." I then list a number of things I think the environment should offer - training, trust, cool projects, transferrable skills...

The problem is, I don't think my environment offers me these things very consistently, but I keep coming back. Is there a deeper motivator? I observe myself trying to become "environment proof," able to be productive in any environment by being fairly steady on the inside.

Seth Godin's "The Dip" offers some clues. I can go through an environment for quite some time if I think it's actually a "dip" worth slogging through. So what are the goals that keep me coming back? A career path, personal development, increasing my circle of influence so I can change the environment... for better or worse, I think that's it.