What Is Motivation?

Motivation is the driving force that initiates, guides and directs you to achieve a goal. It’s an inner power that pushes you to reach your dream and ambition. A characteristic that strengthen you get up and keep going- even when things might go against you. It involves the emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In the simplest definition, it is used to define why a person does something.

Often, a person has the desire to accomplish a certain goal but lacks the push, the initiative and the willingness to take action. This is due to lack of motivation and the inner drive.

So how do we get motivated? Unfortunately, we cannot purchase motivation- it is not something packed in a wrapper and sold in stores. But the good news is we all have the ability to nurture that inner drive. A desire to change is all we need to have. Conquering our fears and pressing onwards will enable us to reach our destination.

Motivation, according to psychologists, comes in three components- activation, persistence and intensity. A decision to initiate a behavior is what we call activation. Persistence is demonstrated when there’s a continued effort toward a goal. And finally, intensity appears when there’s a full vigor and concentration to reach a goal.

The results of motivation are distinctive in nature. It is positive when the response includes pleasure and optimism about the task that are involved. But if the outcome is undesirable, we call it negative motivation.  For leaders who run a team or group, it is important to understand how to stimulate your members to do a certain responsibility. Outcomes primarily depend on what kind of motivation is employed, whether it’s intrinsic or extrinsic. We mean intrinsic if originates from the inside- like reading a book because you want to learn something. Extrinsic is done through the use of rewards from the outside source- like doing well in school because you want a medal or award. In comparison, intrinsic motivation is not easy to find because it comes within, but it is more powerful than extrinsic motivation.

There are many ways on how to cultivate or spark up your inner drive. You can read motivational books for further knowledge and information. Listening to some inspiring music is also practical and attending motivational seminars are tips that can have lasting effects on your lives.