Friday, September 30, 2011

What is Motivation?

At one time or another, many of us will ask ourselves the questions: What is motivation? And how can we cultivate it and utilize it to our advantage? While the answers to these questions may be slightly different for each person, the general philosophy behind motivation is the same.

If you were to boil down the definition of motivation to its most important factors, you would be left with two equal parts of desire and determination. In this sense, motivation can be seen as a strong desire to achieve a certain goal accompanied with the appropriate energy and determination to make it a reality. In other words, simply hoping for an achievement or desired outcome will not necessarily bring that goal to life. You will need to identify and take the steps necessary to achieve your goal in order to succeed. Having the patience and motivation to move closer to your goal one step at a time is what will eventually lead to success.

As you move through life, you will also encounter many different forms of motivation. So, answering the question — what is motivation? — is actually more complicated than it orginially seemed. First, the variety of motivators in life occur because the forces and objects that motivate us are often very distinct and numerous.

For instance, you may exhibit one type of behavior in order to acquire money or a related reward while exhibiting a completely different type of behavior in other circumstances.

According to today’s top motivational theories, the subject of motivation can be broken up into two main principles, which include intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Generally, intrinsic motivation involves one’s own personal interests and factors which they believe they can control. Alternatively, extrinsic motivation involves motivation that is generated from outside an individual person. Perhaps the most popular and powerful extrinsic motivator is money and the need to procure it. As you can see so far, the potential answers to our central question — What is motivation? — are seemingly limitless.

What is Motivation and Why is it Important?


When examining the theories of motivation, it’s also worth noting that motivation can be either positive or negative. For instance, positive motivation includes goals or rewards that you will enjoy or feel proud of. So, working a few extra hours to earn money so your family can go on a great vacation is a form of positive motivation. Negative motivation is said to occur when you undertake a task out of fear or a desire to avoid a given outcome. For instance, you may attend classes and study hard out of fear of failing a given course rather than a desire to succeed in the course. It’s also important to keep in mind that neither positive motivation nor negative motivation is inherently bad or good. These dual poles simply point to two classifications which can help us to answer the question: What is motivation? Also, it’s likely that you will experience both negative and positive motivating factors throughout the course of your life. Also, at one time or another, you will likely encounter a loss of motivation as well. Luckily, there are steps you can take to improve your motivation and take action on your goals.

Now that you know the answer to the question what is motivation, you will need to set a clear and powerful goal so you can strengthen your motivation. This goal can involve just about anything as long as it’s important to you. Also, you need to believe that achieving this goal is possible. Next, you should brainstorm a list of steps you can take to achieve your goal. Keep in mind that these do not have to be monumental leaps and you really shouldn’t try to do everything at once. Instead, break your goal down into actionable items that you can work towards on a daily basis. As you begin acting on your goals, your sense of happiness and enthusiasm is likely to expand as well.

Moving forward, it’s also extremely important that you make a commitment not to give up on your goals. As your motivation rises and falls, try to keep the end goal in mind and never waver from your desire to make it a reality. Finally, you should try to surround yourself with positive people that support and encourage your growth. And don’t be afraid to venture into unknown territory since fear and vulnerability can often be gateways to growth. Because, after all, the answer to the question — What is motivation? — is an answer you will have to find for yourself in the end.

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