What motivates you?

This worksheet is to help you work out what motivates you. When you've worked it out, you'll be better able to choose a career break option that suits you. This sheet is just for you, so make sure you're brutally honest with yourself.

1. When you were at school, what did you tell people you wanted to be when you grew up?
2. What was it about that which made you want to do it? (Was it the excitement? Being able to help other people?)
3. Do you have a secret ambition? What is it?
4. Look at your answer to question 3. Why do you want to do that? (Glamour? Sense of satisfaction? Pure enjoyment?)
5. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
6. What would you like to say in your profile on Friends Reunited?
7. If you saw your ex in 6 months' time, what would you like them to think of you?
8. Do you want to make your parents/friends/partner/kids proud of you? What could you do that would make them proud?
9. How often do you find yourself saying “Oh, I'd love to do that!”? When do you say it? (When people talk about their travels? When you watch ‘Big Brother'? When you read about a new author in the paper?)
10. Which would you rather have – a job that earns you lots of money, or a job that you love so much it doesn't feel like work?

Now, have a look at your answers and see what stands out. Which of the things below motivate you? You can tick as many as you like.

Money	Excitement	Helping others	Travelling
Looking cool	To have changed as a person	Glamour	Doing something worthwhile
Enjoying yourself	Sense of achievement	Looking outward	Looking inward
Learning	Being envied by others	Developing confidence	Doing something physical
Changing the world	Challenging your mind	Seeing new things	Being happy

Keep this sheet somewhere safe. When you're deciding on your career break options, ask yourself if what you're looking at fits with what you've ticked.