The Science Behind Motivation

There’s a constant battle to generate and maintain motivation. For some, being motivated is a natural part of life – presenting minimal challenge to grab and maintain. But for others, motivation is hard to come by – making goals extremely hard to achieve. This article is about understanding the science behind motivation to better understand how we achieve, maintain, and even lose it.

Motivation: The Science

Motivation is the willingness to act on something or for something. At its core, it’s the drive to fulfill our basic needs to obtain pleasure, avoid pain, and drives the energy in which we work at fulfilling these fundamental needs. Motivation is triggered by emotional and social influence and fuels our actions and drive.

Motivation encompasses 3 components:

1. Activation – The decision to initiate a certain behavior. You decided to read this article.
2. Persistence – Is maintaining effort in achieving something. You continue to read this article to learn more about motivation.
3. Intensity – Is the energy that goes into obtaining a goal. You are driven to learn more about motivation so you extend your learning’s on this subject outside of this article.

The types of Motivation

Intrinsic. These are the motivations that arise directly within the individual; influenced by no external forces. These motivations involve things that give us personal satisfaction or pleasure. We are motivated to do things that intrinsically motivate us regardless of any physical rewards.

Extrinsic. These are the motivations that ensue from beyond an individual level and often involve physical rewards. These motivations give us drive to complete tasks, mainly for the reward; whether it is monetary or recognition. Extrinsic motivations justify the reason we work hard on tasks, even when we have no interest, beyond the reward.

Self Motivation

Self motivation is the internal force that drives us to achieve goals. It’s the fire within us that craves for development and yearns for progress. Its self motivation that keeps us driven when faced with obstacles and pushes us to initiate new goals.

Why we Lose Motivation

It’s a struggle to stay motivated; we frequently face bouts of uncertainty, inaction and dwindled courage. The ability to retain motivation is a separating factor between winners and losers; winners have the ability find a way to progress, while losers can’t move forward. We all face the fight of losing motivation, but we all have the power to overcome it.

Knowledge is Power

Understanding the mechanics behind how motivation is achieved, maintained and loss gives you control over the management of your very own motivation. Being motivated is an option and the choice is up to you.

3 tips to enhance your motivational levels:

1. Don’t totally rely on finding motivation from one source. You should identify many things that give you the drive to advance forward in your quest to achieve goals.
2. Motivation is a choice. You have the decision to choose between being motivated, and not.
3. Think positive thoughts. Try being totally positive as much as you can and experience the self motivation that you create.

I’m motivated to protect myself from mediocrity. Averageville isn’t an area I want to dwell. But bigger than myself, I have a family; wife and children. With this comes a natural and constant flow of motivation. I’m motivated by the simple fact that I know everything I do isn’t for me; it’s for those who depend on me and see me as a role model. I’m motivated to honor my responsibilities – I’m driven to serve my family.

Are you motivated? What motivates you and how do you maintain it?

We naturally let motivation happen without putting thought to it. But imagine the power we can consume by understanding how motivation works for you.