What is motivation?

Motivation is a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way

Motivation is the “why” we are doing or not doing something. It’s the force that determines our behaviour, and it is fueled and guided by our desires, our beliefs and our intentions.

Which types of motivation exist?

There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is when you’re motivated by personal internal factors rather than being motivated by external rewards. This means that you’re motivated because you have a certain interest, love the activity itself or simply get enjoyment or satisfaction from doing that specific activity.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation relies on external rewards. This means that you’re motivated because you get an external reward like fame, money or good grades etc.. You’re motivated by a desired outcome which is distinct from the activity itself. An extrinsic motivation can also be negative, meaning that you do something because of fear of a threat, punishment or a negative outcome.

Why is motivation important?

Motivation is important because it is the fuel to achieve the desired outcome. Motivation is the driver to fulfill your desires, achieve your goals and follow your interests. Without motivation you would not fulfill your desires and follow your intentions and beliefs.

Motivation is also important because it gives meaning to your life, helps you to solve problems and overcome difficulties and challenges. Motivation is also important because it helps you to adopt new habits or change bad habits.

How to get motivated?

When you try to get motivated you need to find out where your lack of motivation comes from. This can be due to many reasons and it highly depends on your situation and in which area of your life you’re feeling unmotivated.

We often feel unmotivated when we don’t want to face discomfort or when we fear the outcome might not be the one we desire. It could also be that you’re simply feeling overwhelmed, that the goal you’ve set yourself is too difficult or too easy to achieve or that you can’t find the reasons for doing something and thus lack the commitment to achieve a goal.

In order to get motivated you need to reframe the task at hand so to find the reason for doing something. Sometimes you can’t change the task at hand, but you can change your mindset and how you look at it. Looking at things from a different angle or perspective can often lead to finding the right reason to fuel your motivation.