What is Motivation ?

Introduction

Motivation is important in almost every aspect of human behavior. When you make a decision, your choice is influenced by your state of motivation.

The argument behind why we do what we do, the reason we get up to have a glass of water, start reading a new book, or find someone to talk to. Motivation is what activates our engines to do or achieve something.

Motivation comes from the word "motive" which means needs, desires, desires or impulses, so if we start at the root of the word, it is what makes people act, whether it is the desire for money, success, recognition or job satisfaction.

Motivation, for us, goes far beyond being the gasoline that fuels a certain behavior at a given time, the reason why we do-or don't do-something, is also what keeps us pursuing what our dreams are, what our goals are and what our objectives are.

What is Motivation?

Motivation is what is behind human actions. Motivation is a "driving force" through which people strive to achieve their goals and satisfy a need or defend a value. The important words here are "needs", "values" and "goals" and these are the building blocks of motivation that lead to actions:

Needs are basic requirements for survival and can be physical or psychological; for example, hunger, thirst, love or friendship.

Values are the things we consider most important; for example, family, health or wealth.

The objectives are the results we are working towards.

Describing motivation as a" driving force " suggests that a lot of energy is being created within us to move into action. You've probably experienced this whenever there was something you really wanted, like winning a race, winning a game, passing an exam, or working hard for something you really wanted to buy. Our needs, values and goals are completely individual: two people may have the same goal they want to fulfill, but different needs or values. For example, in a race a person may want to win to feel good about themselves (need for self-esteem) or because they see winning as being in line with their values (the value is that success is important). In conclusion, we can say that motivation is specific to an individual, the result of their needs and values, which create their particular goals and then translate into action.

Motivation is an urge to behave or act in a way that satisfies certain conditions, such as desires, desires, or goals.

Psychologists believe that motivation is based on a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure.

Motivations are commonly divided into impulses (which are primarily biological, such as thirst or hunger) and motives (which are primarily driven by social and psychological mechanisms).

In reality, our motivations are often a mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and the nature of the mixture can change over time.

Older theories of motivation claimed that rational thinking and reason were the guiding factors in human motivation; however, psychologists now believe that motivation may be rooted in basic impulses to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain, and maximize pleasure.

Why is Motivation Important?

The importance of motivation is based on the fact that it can improve our lives.

Understanding motivation gives us many valuable insights into human nature. It explains why we set goals, strive to reach me, why we have desires for intimacy, why we experience emotions such as fear, anger and compassion.

Learning about motivation is valuable because it helps us understand where motivation comes from, why it changes, what increases and decreases it, what aspects of it can and cannot be changed, and it helps us answer the question of why some types of motivation are more beneficial than others.

Motivation is a way to change the way we think, feel and behave.

Finding ways to increase motivation is crucial because it allows us to change behavior, develop competencies, be creative, set goals, grow interests, make plans, develop talents and drive engagement.

The benefits of motivation are visible in how we live our lives. Motivation is a vital resource that allows us to adapt, function productively and maintain well-being in the face of an ever-changing flow of opportunities and threats.

Motivation Theories

McClelland’s theory of needs

McClelland affirms that we all have three motivating drivers, and it does not depend on our gender or age. One of these drives will be dominant in our behaviour. The dominant drive depends on our life experiences.

The three motivators are:

Achievement: a need to accomplish and demonstrate own competence People with a high need for achievement prefer tasks that provide for personal responsibility and results based on their own efforts. They also prefer quick acknowledgement of their progress.

Affiliation: a need for love, belonging and social acceptance People with a high need for affiliation are motivated by being liked and accepted by others. They tend to participate in social gatherings and may be uncomfortable with conflict.

Power: a need for control own work or the work of others People with a high need for power desire situations in which they exercise power and influence over others. They aspire for positions with status and authority and tend to be more concerned about their level of influence than about effective work performance.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow postulated that a person will be motivated when his needs are fulfilled. The need starts from the lowest level basic needs and keeps moving up as a lower level need is fulfilled. Below is the hierarchy of needs:

Physiological: Physical survival necessities such as food, water, and shelter.

Safety: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers.

Social (belongingness and love): The need for association, affiliation, friendship, and so on.

Self-esteem: The need for respect and recognition.

Self-actualization: The opportunity for personal development, learning, and fun/creative/challenging work. Self-actualization is the highest level need to which a human being can aspire.

Alderfer – ERG theory: Existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs

Alderfer (Furnham, 2008) distinguished three steps or classes of needs: existence, relatedness and growth. Maslow’s physiological and safety needs belong together to existence needs. Relatedness can be harmonised to belongingness and esteem of others. Growth is the same as Maslow’s self-esteem plus self-actualization. Both Maslow and Alderfer tried to describe how these needs, these stages of needs become more or less important to individuals.

• Existence needs: These include needs for basic material necessities. In short, it includes an individual’s physiological and physical safety needs.

• Relatedness needs: Individuals need significant relationships (be with family, peers or superiors), love and belongingness, they strive toward reaching public fame and recognition. This class of needs contain Maslow’s social needs and external component of esteem needs.

• Growth needs: Need for self-development, personal growth and advancement form together this class of need. This class of needs contain Maslow’s self-actualization needs and intrinsic component of esteem needs.

Closing

Having a grasp on what motivates us, what drives us forward gives us the power needed to find our why in life, helps us look for something deeper and actually find our bigger purpose. Working and living under the right motivation for us is finally what gives us not only that pinch of savour we need to live but also keeps us moving forward towards a purpose that can be bigger than us.

Let us know in the comments what motivates your daily actions.

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Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."