Historically I have described personal motivation as growth, like “I’m motivated by growth.”

That growth for me usually only entailed attaining new information for career and educational purposes. The more I've thought about it though, the more I actually think that my motivation is progress. Progress not only defined as forward movement personally, but also forward movement that effects others positively. In a career, that looks like learning and doing something that not only helps you, but helps the rest of the people around you. In the personal life that is growing as a person that has the ability to improve the lives of family in friends – being able to cook, build, fix, listen, etc. Those are the sorts of things worth doing anyways right?