“ Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis. “
- Zig Ziglar
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Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.
It involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something. For example, you might say that a student is so motivated to get a professional qualification that she spends every night studying.
"The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior... Motives are the "whys" of behavior - the needs or wants that drive behavior and explain what we do. We don't actually observe a motive; rather, we infer that one exists based on the behavior we observe." (Nevid, 2013).
Anyone who has ever had a goal (like wanting to lose twenty pounds or saving up for a new car) probably immediately realizes that simply having the desire to accomplish something is not enough. Achieving such a goal requires the ability to persist through obstacles and endurance to keep going in spite of difficulties.
There are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence, and intensity.
Activation
Involves the decision to initiate a behavior, such as enrolling in a professional class. This is the first stage of motivation that comes shortly after you are exposed to stimuli influencing positive behavior change. It could’ve been something you visualized, saw, heard or experienced. Whatever the stimulus is, it has to be powerful enough to convince you to change your ways immediately. The stronger the stimuli, the quicker you’ll decide to start taking action.
Persistence
This is the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist, such as taking more professional courses in order to earn a degree although it requires a significant investment of time, energy, and resources. This component relies heavily on the strength of the stimuli, and the frequency of exposure to it. When the initial excitement of activation is gone, your zeal must be renewed to ensure that you see it through to the end. Continue listening to that clip, read that literature… keep reminding yourself of why you started and what the rewards are when you’re done.
Intensity
This can be seen in the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a goal. Continuing with our example, one student studying the same courses as you might coast by without much effort, whereas you will study regularly, participate in discussions and take advantage of research opportunities outside of class.
Psychologists have proposed a number of different theories to explain motivation, which include:
Instincts: The instinct theory of motivation suggests that behaviors are motivated by instincts, which are fixed and inborn patterns of behavior. Psychologists including William James, Sigmund Freud, and, William McDougal have proposed a number of basic human drives that motivate behavior.
Drives and Needs: Many of our behaviors, such as eating, drinking, and sleeping, are motivated by biology. We have a biological need for food, water, and sleep, therefore we eat, drink, and sleep. Drive theory suggests that people have basic biological drives and that our behaviors are motivated by the need to fulfill these drives.
Extrinsic Vs. Intrinsic Motivation: There are a number of different ways of thinking about motivation, including one method that involves looking at whether motivation arises from the outside (extrinsic) or inside (intrinsic) the individual. Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition or praise. Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated cross-word puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a problem.
"A person's interest often survives when a reward is used neither to bribe nor to control but to signal a job well done, as in a "most improved player" award. If a reward boosts your feeling of competence after doing good work, your enjoyment of the task may increase. Rewards, rightly administered, can motivate high performance and creativity. And extrinsic rewards (such as scholarships, admissions, and jobs that often follow good grades) are here to stay," explains David G. Meyers in his text Psychology: Eighth Edition in Modules.
In conclusion, while no single theory can adequately explain all human motivation, it is very important for us to have an understanding of the forces that cause us to take action. In reality, there are likely many different forces that interact to motivate behavior. Whatever the case is, the most important thing you can do on the road to personal growth and improvement is to stay motivated.