Author: Abhishek Agarwal
Have you ever asked yourself what motivation is? It could be defined as the driving force that leads to an action. There is probably no better definition. It is the encouraging feeling that helps you to work towards your goals. Some of us consciously work towards motivating the self towards working better, while others simply do this automatically.
Some of us make an effort to justify our existence while others do this subconsciously. All of us have different factors that motivate us, so we need to understand that our unique personalities require unique kinds of motivation. Some of the kinds of motivation are as follows:
A. Achievement motivation: All of us have an in built desire to achieve something in life, and what we feel we need to achieve is relative to who we are as persons. What is easy for one to achieve could be difficult to another, but achievement is rarely looked upon as a motivation factor. However, when you have this desire to achieve, and when you recognize it as a driving force, nothing is impossible once you put your mind to it.
B. Motivation from society: Some of us are motivated to do better in life simply because we want to move up the social ladder. Others may be motivated to do something so that they can remain in their peer group. School kids are often motivated to better at academics just so they do not lose their group of friends, out of the fear that they may be held back one year. This is a simple example of motivation from society.
C. Motivation from promised incentives: When you know that you are going to be rewarded for doing something right, you make sure you do it right. This is called incentive motivation. Companies throughout the world offer their employees rewards or bonuses for completing projects before the set deadline, and this encourages the workers to work harder towards the goal. This is an example of incentive motivation at work.
D. Motivation from fear: Companies often use fear of punishment to motivate their employees. This could be looked upon as the opposite of incentive motivation and companies often use both forms hand in hand. While you could be rewarded for doing something right, you could well be penalized for doing it wrong. This is not as negative as it may sound, and is an efficient way of keeping employees sharp, and on their toes.
E. Motivation for change: Some of us are motivated to work hard towards achieving our goals because we are not happy with our immediate surrounding, and would love to see a change here.
By: Scott Barker
Motivation can be defined in numerous ways, but there are two basic definitions or descriptions. It can be defined as the main reason or reasons that individuals partake in a certain behavior, specifically human behavior pursuant to the study of psychology or neuropsychology. It can also be defined as the driving force that initiates and drives an individual’s behavior. It is the internal energy that propels us to achieve our goals. Typically, it is considered to be a dynamic state of mind not concerned with personality.
There are three aspects of human behavior that motivation is based and founded in:
1. arousal of behavior
2. direction of behavior
3. persistence of behavior
Arousal of behavior relates to a specific thing that activates behavior whereas direction of behavior relates to what is responsible for directing the behavior. Persistence of behavior relates to how the behavior is sustained.
What drives an individual to be successful is referred to as motive. Usually, all motives fall into one of three categories and are considered to be physiological or psychological in nature:
1. homeostatic motives - hunger, respiration, thirst, etc.
2. nonhomeostatic motives - curiosity about the environment, seeking shelter, etc.
3. learned or social motives - achievement, approval, power, social affiliation, etc
In any endeavor that an individual undertakes, motivation (or the lack thereof) is the key element behind the success or failure of the endeavor. It plays a key role in the workplace where the effective performance of an employee is concerned. Management or supervisory personnel have a direct impact and play a significant role in employee motivation in that they employ different motivational techniques to raise productivity levels. It also follows that this has a direct effect on the cooperation levels between the employer and the employee.
Motivation can also be classified as
1. negative or positive
2. obvious or subtle
3. intangible or tangible
Education or learning is also interrelated with motivation and instructors will oftentimes employ motivational techniques to get their students to learn. It can benefit the student by making them more competent as well as encouraging confidence and the ability to solve problems.
Self-motivation has also been classified into two different types:
1. Extrinsic - generated by external factors
2. Intrinsic - generated by internal sensations and is longer-lasting than extrinsic
Self-motivation is considered to be intrinsic in nature, and originates from an individual’s internal drives. It is the basis for overcoming obstacles in the path of achieving one’s goals. Additionally, certain external factors are responsible for driving a person into undertaking a new project or to move in a positive direction. Characteristically, self-motivation is comprised of three factors:
1. beliefs
2. desires
3. values
Author: Sandra Stammberger
The human being is a social creature, so he requires motivation for effort. A man, who is skilled of doing all, needs approval from others for his works. For some works, when confidence is not strong enough to get going. Motivation is required to get the faith in capabilities. As we say-, ‘there are no limits for human’ but there are apprehension and insecurity for some important works. In some cases when people get exhausted, they think themselves to be broken down; for keeping their faith in abilities, and to keep them going on motivation is required.
There are many things to motivate a man. Some people are self-motivated, but are rare. Teaching and analyzing themselves and thinking positive can be self-motivation for them but after all men needs others also to believe in his abilities so even for some rare times they also need motivation from external things. Getting motivated is actually getting positive energy. Energy source can differ. It may be some person, some literature, some thought, some belief or something beautiful.
Motivational training is teaching a person to get his motivation and keep it on for long time. This teaching is in itself a motivation. As this training gives thoughts to get motivation. Therefore, this motivational training becomes the course of action, which gives you the integrated positive energy, to make you able for receiving energy from all the sources you have.
To get motivational training there are things that, provide self-energy such as:
Literature: - There are both kinds of literature to get motivation. Success literature can directly motivate as it is written for that purpose. There are Del Carnegi, Steven Conory, Swet Morden and their books like ‘seven habits of highly effective people.” They provide a view of life, so one can analyze him and get motivated for new challenges.
On the other hand, there are, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevaskey and Charles Dickens, they gave the way of thinking and provide thoughtfulness of human capabilities for motivations.
Trainers: - There are some experts in this field which provides the motivational strength to thoughts. Being face to face with a person is very different experience. On the other, hand everyone some persons whom he believes to be capable and owner of strong will power. Conversation with such person on personal matters can be the motivation. Breaks: - When we are tired of our ongoing routines, often mind stops responding and everything seems to be dull and bore. In such case, it is better to go for some vacation and take a break. It gives freshness to the mind and provides great motivational energy. There are no limitations of sources of motivation. Some sources appeal somebody and some not. Motivation is required for every one. Some times, we find those sources in our hobbies and sometimes in taking time with our families; some spatial friends give us motivation in spending time together.
Self-motivation is a rare but brilliant thing. It needs strong will power to be able to regenerate energy from our own thoughts. Our soul is the biggest source of motivational energy, so being honest with the soul makes you self motivated. Even if you have sources of motivation, self-motivation of our individuality is the most powerful one. No external power can de-motivate a self-motivated person.
Author: Jason De Boer
Why is motivation important?
Whether you are trying to achieve something yourself or lead others towards an achievement, the ability to be self-motivated or to motivate is crucial. When we meet people who are regarded as successful or high achievers, it is tempting to assume that they are innately self-driven, or are natural leaders with high levels of motivational ability. This may well be the case, but it is just as likely that they have learned and used some effective techniques for either motivating themselves or to motivate others.
The benefits of motivation to an individual are fairly obvious – people who are motivated tend to be more successful in achieving their personal and professional goals, which in turn has benefits in terms of their self-esteem and confidence. Given that people are usually the most important asset of any organization, motivation is also a critical factor in the overall success of a team or business.
Three golden rules of motivation
Motivation does not take place on its own. In order to be motivated or to motivate others, it is important to remember three golden rules of motivation before considering any specific techniques.
1 Motivation is impossible without clear achievable goals
Motivation and goal setting are inextricably linked. Without a goal or purpose, motivation is meaningless, whilst motivation is a vital part of intentionally achieving any goal. Two of the most basic motivators are to know exactly what you are trying to achieve, and to then go out and achieve it. Not having a clear idea of your goal or not believing that a goal is attainable will severely dent your motivation.
2 Motivation and goals need to be in alignment at every level
How often have you felt that you have been performing well or doing a good job, only to be told by your manager or colleagues that you have been focusing on the wrong thing, that priorities have changed or that you have simply been underperforming? For example, imagine an experienced sales person who has an excellent track record of retaining business with their established customers, but is heavily criticized by their manager for failing to develop as much new business as their less experienced colleague. As a result, the sales person feels alienated, undervalued and ultimately de-motivated. Their performance and results are likely to suffer. The chances are that there has been a lack of dialogue between the manager and the sales person over how individual goals need to fit with the overall goals of the company. If the emphasis is on generating new business, has this been communicated effectively to each sales person, and in a manner which will motivate each of them to succeed?
Every business needs motivated employees in order to be successful and achieve its goals. If employee motivation is not closely matched to these business goals, the chances of success are diminished.
3 Motivation is neither fixed nor infinite
Motivation is not a one-off event. Something which provides motivation at one particular time may not be as effective in the future, due to changes in environment and circumstances. If someone is driven to become the best in their field, how do they maintain their motivation to perform once they reach the pinnacle of their profession? Even if circumstances remain constant, the most powerful motivational factors will lose impact over the course of time. For instance, you may attend a conference and feel energized by a particular speaker or meeting, and leave the event highly motivated to put what you have heard into action. How long will the impact of what you heard last before you slip back into old ways of doing things?
Author: Bertil Hjert
Self motivation is very important. There are several reasons for self motivation being so important in a person’s life. Everyone needs to be self motivated.
Who needs motivation? All of us do. In this world of tough competition, stress and hectic lifestyle, one surely requires a driving force to get going. It is very important to keep up the good work.
These days, with so many challenges and a lot of competition one needs to survive, self motivation works like confidence enhancer. It boosts once enthusiasm and provides energy to work.
Self motivation is known as the most important factor in your life. If you are looking for success in any area of your life, you need self motivation. Self motivation plays an important role in enhancing your self esteem. It cultivates a desire to do something in life. Experts in the past have believed and even proved that when self motivation is combined with self determination, one can easily move mountains and find water in deserts.
There are several things one can get motivated with. People get motivated by their strong belief in the almighty. They can even get motivated by an experience they have had or by any other factor. These things just encourage you to change your perspective in life. One can change in to a better person or a better business person with self motivation.
People usually go through happy and sad times in their lives. When thing go awry, you need to support yourself, your family and people around you. This needs a good amount of energy force in you. When providing support and encouragement to your family and friends, you need to be really strong.
Some people are lucky to have good support in the times of pathos. However, some are left alone and require a lot of courage to survive tough times. At such times, one need to get motivates or motivates oneself. Lack of self motivation at such times can be damaging and even complicate your life further.
Mentioned below are some strong reasons on why you require self motivation:
- Self motivation is extremely important when it comes to accepting challenges and opportunities in life.
- The force of self motivation helps in planning your life and easing the difficulties.
- Self motivation provides a new sense of purpose and direction to your life.
- Self motivation is important to provide enthusiasm in life.
- Self motivation lets you live a fulfilling life.
- You can empower and encourage yourself to face tough times and competition in life with the help of self motivation.
- Self motivations fill you with positive energy and boost your enthusiasm.
- Self motivation is important for your existence. It provides you an identity for yourself.
By: Glen Peebles
Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behaviour towards subject matter (Ormrod, 2003). Motivation has been found to be a pivotal area in treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, as in Pivotal Response Therapy. Motivation is also an important element in the concept of Andragogy (what motivates the adult learner). Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff are more attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side. Motivational strategies need to be applied individually and changed frequently so that they do not become ineffective through over use.
Motivation
According to Geen, motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behaviour. Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. There is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation, and most explanations combine elements of Fritz Heider’s attribution theory, Bandura’s work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal orientation.
Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor. In work environments, money may provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks.
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory, aka intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, but if absent, lead to dissatisfaction. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.
It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a “meta-task”, namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.
Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates. There are two kinds of motivation: Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is significant.
At lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, such as Physiological needs, money is a motivator; however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a short period (in accordance with Herzberg’s two-factor model of motivation). At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and theory Y (pertaining to the theory of leadership) demonstrate.
According to the system of scientific management developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, a worker’s motivation is solely determined by pay, and therefore management need not consider psychological or social aspects of work. In essence scientific management bases human motivation wholly on extrinsic rewards and discards the idea of intrinsic rewards.
In contrast, David McClelland believed that workers could not be motivated by the mere need for money– in fact, extrinsic motivation (e. , money) could extinguish intrinsic motivation such as achievement motivation, though money could be used as an indicator of success for various motives, e.
Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. Motivation has been found to be a pivotal area in treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, as in Pivotal Response Therapy. Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff is more attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side. Motivation is the key to performance improvement.
Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. Motivational strategies need to be applied individually and changed frequently so that they do not become ineffective through over use. Motivation is a pivotal concept in most theories of learning. Motivation to achieve is a function of the individual’s desire for success, the expectancy of success, and the incentives provided. Motivation is divided into two basic types: integrative and instrumental.