Awards, Medals, COA's vs Self-Satisfaction...what motivates you?

The other day I was talking with the Civilian at my shop, he used to be an O-5 in the Air Force. He is always telling me, if you do this you might get an award, if you do that you might get a COA, etc. I told him that I wasn't doing it for the awards because if all my motivation comes from just getting an award, what will happen if I don't get it? Or if I get it, what's next? Then I would need to find another motivation. I told him that my motivation was knowing that I got a project in X level and I brought it up to standards. He told me I was wrong, he told me that in his Commanding times, he used Awards to motivate his Airmen to do what he needed to be done.

As we were talking, a NCO got to the conversation and gave me another POV. He told me that awards are important to keep record of what we have accomplish. He told me that if he were to be my NCO, and he doesn't know me, he will check my ERB and have an idea of what kind of Soldier I am. I got that point better.

What does motivate you? Is getting awards your fuel? Is knowing that you fixed or improve something that needed work what moves you?