Motivation is a great mystery, an inner drive that incites human behavior. It is the cause for people getting up in the morning, practicing how to follow their dreams, facing up to obstacles, and continuing to persevere amid adversity. Whether being motivated to lose weight, learn a skill, or simply survive a long day at work, motivation is what pushes oneself forward. But what is motivation? How does it work? What can we do to channel it into our pursuits?
What Is Motivation?
At its most basic level, motivation is a process inside an individual that energizes, directs, and sustains goal-directed behavior. It’s the “why” behind each action we take, whether it is conscious or subconscious. It has intrinsic motivation that refers to internal wants, and extrinsic motivation that refers to externally imposed rewards.
- Intrinsic Motivation: This type of motivation originates from within. It’s when you do something because you enjoy it or feel good doing it. A person may play a musical instrument for the sole purpose of enjoying the act of playing or the satisfaction that the act brings. Intrinsic motivation tends to last longer since motivation is connected more to personal interests and enjoyment.
- Extrinsic Motivation: This type of motivation is based on forces outside the individual: external rewards, accolades from others, or the fear of negative outcomes. A student might study hard to earn high marks, while an athlete might train hard for a competition to win a medal. Extrinsic motivation might work better than intrinsic motivation, but it is probably not as enduring when the initial impulse has faded.
Theories of Motivation
Psychologists have long imagined theories that account for the mechanisms of motivation. Some of these theories are best known.
1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Khawaja Maslow introduced the most famous theory of motivation. Maslow theorized that humans are hierarchically organized with respect to their needs, and that only after lower level needs that inhibit fulfillment through higher-level ones have been fulfilled, can a person rise towards self-actualization. Maslow’s theory can be represented as a hierarchic pyramid with five levels:
- Physiological Needs: the requirement for basic survival such as food, water, and sleep.
- Safety Needs: the need for security and stability, and also for protection.
- Love and Belonging Needs: the need for relationships, social connections, and love.
- Esteem Needs: the need for self-esteem, esteem from others, and accomplishment.
- Self-Actualization: the realization of one’s potential, productiveness, and personal growth.
According to Maslow, motivation follows this sequential order in fulfilling one’s different needs—once the need in the lower level is over and satisfied, the individual strives to satisfy the needs in the higher level.
2. Self-Determination Theory: self-determination theory
Self-Determination Theory around which Edward Deci and Richard Ryan based their research signifies the role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in motivation. People are likely to be most motivated when they feel themselves primarily in control of those actions (autonomy), competent to execute the tasks successfully (competence), and connected with others (relatedness).
SDT distinguishes intrinsic from extrinsic motivation, the former satisfying the intrinsic needs and thus allowing for more enduring, rewarding motivation. It also suggests that extrinsically awarded incentives may be detrimental to a person’s intrinsic motivation, particularly if they feel these incentives to be controlling or invincible.
3. Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory proposed by Victor Vroom proposes that motivation is determined by the outcome one wants to achieve. According to this theory, the more people think their efforts will lead them to their desired outcomes, the more effort they are motivated to exert. The major ideas of this theory are:
- Expectancy: The belief that a certain amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance.
- Instrumentality: The belief that performance will lead to a reward.
- Valence: The feeling placed on the reward.
That is, if an individual believes that their hard work will lead to success and that success will lead to valuable rewards, then they will be highly motivated to act.
Factors That Influence Motivation
Motivation may be somewhat complex and unique. However, different factors do influence it:
- Goals: Having a clear and specific goal which is realistic provides direction and purpose. Short term and long-term goal setting should be done to obtain focus.
- Self-Discipline and Willpower: Motivation may vary from time to time, but self-discipline mostly helps a person keep advancing in spite of lack of zeal. Using good habits and a routine is what it really takes to maintain motivation.
- Environment: An encouraging environment is a fertile ground for motivation. Such others as positive feedback, mutual encouragement, and just plain belonging are positive ways to surround oneself with good influences. Negative environment on the contrary is conducive to demotivation and burnout.
- Mindset: Research undertaken by Carol Dweck on mindsets highlights that persons possessing a growth mindset-a conviction that abilities and intelligence can be enlarged through exertion-are most likely to keep motivated and stick to problems. On the contrary, people possessing a fixed mindset believe that abilities are just fixed and they may even give up when facing obstacles.
- Passion and Interest: Engaging in activities that lean toward personal interest and passion can be one of the most powerful motivators. When one is interested in something, motivation usually manifests naturally; hence one perseveres in moments of challenge or adversity.
- Feedback and Reward: Progress feedback rejuvenates motivation and reinforces positive behavior. Rewards-intrinsic or extrinsic-play a very vital role in cementing motivation.
How to Increase Motivation
So if motivation is to be a core ingredient in the recipe of goal attainment, then how do we enhance it? Following are useful tips:
- Set SMART Goals: The goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Unambiguous goals yield focus and direction in realizing the desired results.
- Break Tasks Into Smaller Steps: When one has to perform big tasks, it is quite common to feel overwhelmed and demotivated. Split them into smaller, more manageable steps and ensure progress and accomplishment.
- Find Your Why: Discover why you desire to obtain a particular goal. Building a sense of meaning or association with the intrinsic value associated with the goal can boost motivation.
- Create a Positive Environment: Supportive people surround you, who encourage your goals and give positive reinforcement. Minimize distractions and create an engaging workplace conducive to productivity.
- Visualize Your Success: Visualizing yourself accomplishing a task can strengthen motivation and build self-confidence. Also, it makes the anticipated outcome seem more concrete and achievable.
- Celebrate Small Wins: Recognize and celebrate the small wins along the way. This mushroom effect keeps morale high and reinforces the positive behavior you want to continue.
- Get an Accountability Partner: Just having someone to keep you accountable has proven to be useful in maintaining motivation-anyone from a mentor to coach to just a friend. External accountability surely helps keep one aligned toward the goal.
- Develop a Growth Mindset: View a challenge as an opportunity to learn. Rather than seeing failures, see the possible lessons learned along the way that would enhance one’s development.
Conclusion
Motivation cannot be defined by a single description. It’s a complicated manifold of internal and external variables. Whatever motivates, whether it is a passion from within, an external reward, or a sense of obligation, knowing what makes you tick will enable you to direct your energies to greater effect for the attainment of your goals. While utter bright-sided optimism will not provide a permanent motivation boost, clarifying goals and nurturing a positive environment will result in a mindset conducive to motivating oneself into making progress toward the life one desires.
