Just What Is Motivation, exactly?

What is motivation, exactly? Not everyone defines motivation in the same manner.

Some people describe motivation as a mental power that propels someone to accomplish an end, like finishing a task or saving for retirement.

Some claim that motive is the reason why some people act one way while others act quite differently.

Motivation is frequently discussed in relation to developing and attaining goals as well as what influences a person's behavior.

Some people describe motivation as a mental power that propels someone to accomplish an end, like finishing a task or saving for retirement.

Motivation is sometimes defined as feelings that push a person to achieve a specific goal.

Motivation is frequently thought to be the reason that a person chooses to do something specific, such as applying for a specific job or taking a chance by asking someone out on a date.

Motivation is strongly related to behavior in terms of its initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence in the field of psychology.

To be motivated, one must be interested in what they are doing as well as willing and able to see it through to completion.

However, motivation is distinct from emotion or personality. Instead, motivation is a dynamic and transient mental state.

A motivated person can be motivated to achieve a long-term goal or a short-term goal, and both have value.

A motivated person may divide a long-term goal into a series of smaller short-term goals in order to make the end result easier to reach for and achieve.

The motivation to work toward any given goal can change, and circumstances frequently require a person to modify their level of motivation.

A person's personality, on the other hand, is essentially a permanent part of the person's characteristics that does not change.

Personality traits include whether a person is introverted or extroverted, modest, conscientious, shy, or loud, and so on.

Emotions are temporary states that a person experiences in order to cope with immediate circumstances, such as sadness, happiness, frustration, confusion, anger, and grief.

Motivation, on the other hand, automatically correlates with behavior.

Motivation is frequently divided into two categories: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation occurs when a person's desire to do something arises from within and there is no obvious external incentive for it to occur.

Painting, making toy models, stamp collecting, scrap booking, and other leisure activities are examples of intrinsic motivation. Since the 1970s, numerous studies on intrinsic motivation have been conducted.

Extrinsic motivation occurs when an external factor serves as an incentive for behavior.

This is commonly observed in workplaces where employees are motivated by their superiors by offering tangible rewards such as additional pay or a promotion.

There are also intangible rewards, such as being praised for a job well done or receiving public recognition for your efforts. Many people react favorably to both tangible and intangible extrinsic motivation.