What is motivation? Quoting the dictionary definition:
Motivate; cause to act in a particular way, stimulate the interest.
Motive; the factor that induces a person to act, concerns with movement.
Therefore to be self-motivated there has to be an underlying reason for motivating ourselves to do the things we do. The word ‘motivation’ is derived from the Latin verb "movere" which means ‘to move’. Motivation can therefore be described as ‘something that moves you to action'. This something we will determine as the reason why a person acts in a certain way; therefore to understand motivation we need an understanding of the reasons why we want to achieve goals and also to prioritize them in an order that makes attainment of the goal through direct effort achievable.
‘Motivation is an internal state that, when activated, changes behaviour through a desire, need or want.’
Motivation can be linked to pain and pleasure in the sense that we may be considerably motivated to achieve certain pleasure or avoid certain pain, which would provide the reason for the consistent change in behaviour. When the desire for pleasure or the need to move away from pain is great so too is the motivation to change; when the desire or need is low in comparison then the motivation to achieve the goal will obviously decrease.
Generally most people are reactive in life; they wait for things to happen to them before making a commitment to change or to be consistently motivated to achieve the goal. Being reactive for example means that we wait to put weight on before we act, e.g., diet, exercise, which means that we are driven by pain or dissatisfaction to motivate us. Reactive motivation means that we tend to live by the pain principle. The proactive approach seeks pleasure. This is where we evaluate our life and through a desire, need or want we will be motivated consistently to achieve the pleasure it will provide.
This also relates to the stick and the carrot theory. For example, some people are motivated by criticism (pain), while others are motivated by praise and recognition (pleasure). In work what do people generally prefer - criticism or praise? In most cases it will be praise; however, in our own life, it tends to be our own criticism of ourselves that motivates us.
So why is it in our personal life that we are driven reactively by the pain or dissatisfaction principle where our own self-talk is critical before we act? Generally because most people are conditioned by their circumstances rather than choosing the circumstances themselves.
In general, motivation can be separated into two categories: extrinsic (outside the person) or intrinsic (inside the person). Extrinsic motivation means the individual is motivated by external factors such as tangible rewards, salary, benefits, security, promotion, work environment, incentives. Intrinsic motivation means to be motivated by internal factors such as psychological rewards, opportunity, challenge, recognition, praise, sense of achievement, and so on.
There is an endless list of possible reasons for being motivated that link to the pain and pleasure principle. It may be Behavioural to obtain a desired reward or escape unpleasant consequences; it could be Physiological through the senses, arousal, hunger, thirst etc; it could be Social in wanting to be part of a group or be like another; Cognitive in solving problems, making decisions, developing meaning or understanding; Emotional to increase feeling good or bad or to maintain feeling good about the self or Self-Esteem through status, achievement or recognition; Conative to take control of your life or obtain an individual dream; or perhaps Spiritual in attempting to understand why we are here.
‘To persistently be motivated you need to feel with a burning desire or passion about a thing to continue to take action.’
What are you motivated by?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 in New York. He developed his humanistic theory, the Hierarchy of Needs model, in the 1940s -50s. His key work was the book ‘Motivation & Personality’, published in 1954. Maslow’s theory was delivered through his research with monkeys. He established that, by withholding certain things, monkeys would develop a hierarchy of needs, i.e. when starved and without water then the monkeys would appropriately quench their thirst before devouring food hence showing the thirst to be the greater need, and so on.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a five-stage model, and is built on the idea that man is motivated by his needs. We satisfy these needs in turn starting with the basic need for survival and then working through each following need. The needs form levels within a hierarchical triangle and only when the lower needs are met do we aspire to the next level. For example, once the physiological and safety needs have been met then we would move towards the belonging needs as our prime motivation, but if the safety needs suddenly become threatened, e.g., you are with friends (Belonging Needs) on a night out and someone attacks you then your motivation would be fight or flight (Safety Needs). This would also be the same if you were out with a group of people and you became hungry, then you would automatically seek food and forget about the group needs until the hunger need had been satisfied.
Maslow’s theory was developed further years later whereupon adapted versions of the model included for example in the first instance after esteem needs, cognitive needs (knowledge & meaning), aesthetic needs (appreciation of beauty), then self actualization needs and then transcendence needs (helping others achieve self actualization).
There are other content theories such as those of Alderfer and Herzberg, which relate to work. Alderfer’s model condenses Maslow's into three levels of needs based on Existence needs such as sustaining existence and survival, and physiological and safety needs. Relatedness needs such as relationships, being part of a group, love, belonging, meaningful relationships. Growth needs such as self esteem, self-actualization, improving potential. The difference with Alderfer’s theory is that the hierarchy is not the driver, all needs may be activated at the same time and frustration in one could lead to advanced pursuit of another even if it is the lower need.
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene model or theory states there are two sets of factors present. One set is comprised of dissatisfiers or ‘hygiene factors’ concerned with job environment and extrinsic to the job. These factors prevent dissatisfaction. The other set of factors are the motivators. These lead to growth, and are not linked to dissatisfaction, purely the feelings of satisfaction being achieved or not. This can be broken down into dissatisfactional motivators (Maintenance) such as money, job security, work environment, etc and then satisfiers (Growth) such as recognition, responsibility, interesting work, a sense of achievement.
Herzberg’s theory ties in with the pain and pleasure principle in the sense that most people are driven or motivated by dissatisfaction in life more so than the satisfiers or growth motivators. To most individuals, in life in general, it takes a lot of dissatisfaction before a real concerted effort is made to attain a goal on a consistent basis. For example, when an individual is pushed too far by the boss, they may eventually seek new employment, when possibly it was the individual holding himself or herself back - whether they actually leave is another matter. Again this links to associations to pain and pleasure. When dissatisfied enough with pain we become motivated to act but we are being totally reactive to the situation. When driven by pleasure or growth needs it is proactive measures or steps that help us to achieve through the needs desire.
Taking proactive measures in life will result in a consistent motivation which is driven by individual meaning, aspiration and achievement.
Cognitive theories of motivation – there are several other theories, which are processing theories of motivation. Leon Festinger’s theory of Cognitive Dissonance suggests that when there is a discrepancy between two beliefs or actions we will act to resolve the conflict and discrepancy. The essence is that if we think positively about a belief but deep down in our subconscious we feel quite negative about that belief then there is a disagreement that needs to be resolved. Generally the one we believe the most will be the chosen belief or association and hence drive behaviour. However if we create enough disequilibrium then we can change the patterns of our behaviour and hence change our habits.
Generally the theory of Cognitive Dissonance suggests we seek ‘Homeostasis’ in our lives, remaining within our comfort zones, giving balance to our lives and therefore resisting change.
Other theories of motivation tend to be psychoanalytical or spiritual theories. Frankl asserts that man’s ultimate motivation is the search for meaning, Jung the search for the soul or personal meaning. Freud’s ultimate drivers were life (sexual) and death (aggressive) based around the will to pleasure, Adler asserts the will to power.
Read the secret to motivation in Being & Becoming: In Search of a Positive World.
Motivate; cause to act in a particular way, stimulate the interest.
Motive; the factor that induces a person to act, concerns with movement.
Therefore to be self-motivated there has to be an underlying reason for motivating ourselves to do the things we do. The word ‘motivation’ is derived from the Latin verb "movere" which means ‘to move’. Motivation can therefore be described as ‘something that moves you to action'. This something we will determine as the reason why a person acts in a certain way; therefore to understand motivation we need an understanding of the reasons why we want to achieve goals and also to prioritize them in an order that makes attainment of the goal through direct effort achievable.
‘Motivation is an internal state that, when activated, changes behaviour through a desire, need or want.’
Motivation can be linked to pain and pleasure in the sense that we may be considerably motivated to achieve certain pleasure or avoid certain pain, which would provide the reason for the consistent change in behaviour. When the desire for pleasure or the need to move away from pain is great so too is the motivation to change; when the desire or need is low in comparison then the motivation to achieve the goal will obviously decrease.
Generally most people are reactive in life; they wait for things to happen to them before making a commitment to change or to be consistently motivated to achieve the goal. Being reactive for example means that we wait to put weight on before we act, e.g., diet, exercise, which means that we are driven by pain or dissatisfaction to motivate us. Reactive motivation means that we tend to live by the pain principle. The proactive approach seeks pleasure. This is where we evaluate our life and through a desire, need or want we will be motivated consistently to achieve the pleasure it will provide.
This also relates to the stick and the carrot theory. For example, some people are motivated by criticism (pain), while others are motivated by praise and recognition (pleasure). In work what do people generally prefer - criticism or praise? In most cases it will be praise; however, in our own life, it tends to be our own criticism of ourselves that motivates us.
So why is it in our personal life that we are driven reactively by the pain or dissatisfaction principle where our own self-talk is critical before we act? Generally because most people are conditioned by their circumstances rather than choosing the circumstances themselves.
In general, motivation can be separated into two categories: extrinsic (outside the person) or intrinsic (inside the person). Extrinsic motivation means the individual is motivated by external factors such as tangible rewards, salary, benefits, security, promotion, work environment, incentives. Intrinsic motivation means to be motivated by internal factors such as psychological rewards, opportunity, challenge, recognition, praise, sense of achievement, and so on.
There is an endless list of possible reasons for being motivated that link to the pain and pleasure principle. It may be Behavioural to obtain a desired reward or escape unpleasant consequences; it could be Physiological through the senses, arousal, hunger, thirst etc; it could be Social in wanting to be part of a group or be like another; Cognitive in solving problems, making decisions, developing meaning or understanding; Emotional to increase feeling good or bad or to maintain feeling good about the self or Self-Esteem through status, achievement or recognition; Conative to take control of your life or obtain an individual dream; or perhaps Spiritual in attempting to understand why we are here.
‘To persistently be motivated you need to feel with a burning desire or passion about a thing to continue to take action.’
What are you motivated by?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow was born in 1908 in New York. He developed his humanistic theory, the Hierarchy of Needs model, in the 1940s -50s. His key work was the book ‘Motivation & Personality’, published in 1954. Maslow’s theory was delivered through his research with monkeys. He established that, by withholding certain things, monkeys would develop a hierarchy of needs, i.e. when starved and without water then the monkeys would appropriately quench their thirst before devouring food hence showing the thirst to be the greater need, and so on.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a five-stage model, and is built on the idea that man is motivated by his needs. We satisfy these needs in turn starting with the basic need for survival and then working through each following need. The needs form levels within a hierarchical triangle and only when the lower needs are met do we aspire to the next level. For example, once the physiological and safety needs have been met then we would move towards the belonging needs as our prime motivation, but if the safety needs suddenly become threatened, e.g., you are with friends (Belonging Needs) on a night out and someone attacks you then your motivation would be fight or flight (Safety Needs). This would also be the same if you were out with a group of people and you became hungry, then you would automatically seek food and forget about the group needs until the hunger need had been satisfied.
- Physiological Needs, e.g., air, drink, shelter, warmth, sleep, avoiding pain, having sex.
- Safety Needs, e.g., protection from the elements of the environment, order, stability, promotion, safe circumstances.
- Love & Belonging Needs, e.g., the need for friends, family, love, affection, relationships, sense of community, work groups, being part of something.
- Esteem Needs, e.g., respect from others, status, achievement, independence, recognition, glory, attention, reputation, confidence, dominance, prestige.
- Self-Actualisation. These needs are becoming all you can be, realizing your full potential, self-fulfillment, value-driven, appreciation of life. Mankind's highest form of need is self-actualization.
Maslow’s theory was developed further years later whereupon adapted versions of the model included for example in the first instance after esteem needs, cognitive needs (knowledge & meaning), aesthetic needs (appreciation of beauty), then self actualization needs and then transcendence needs (helping others achieve self actualization).
There are other content theories such as those of Alderfer and Herzberg, which relate to work. Alderfer’s model condenses Maslow's into three levels of needs based on Existence needs such as sustaining existence and survival, and physiological and safety needs. Relatedness needs such as relationships, being part of a group, love, belonging, meaningful relationships. Growth needs such as self esteem, self-actualization, improving potential. The difference with Alderfer’s theory is that the hierarchy is not the driver, all needs may be activated at the same time and frustration in one could lead to advanced pursuit of another even if it is the lower need.
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene model or theory states there are two sets of factors present. One set is comprised of dissatisfiers or ‘hygiene factors’ concerned with job environment and extrinsic to the job. These factors prevent dissatisfaction. The other set of factors are the motivators. These lead to growth, and are not linked to dissatisfaction, purely the feelings of satisfaction being achieved or not. This can be broken down into dissatisfactional motivators (Maintenance) such as money, job security, work environment, etc and then satisfiers (Growth) such as recognition, responsibility, interesting work, a sense of achievement.
Herzberg’s theory ties in with the pain and pleasure principle in the sense that most people are driven or motivated by dissatisfaction in life more so than the satisfiers or growth motivators. To most individuals, in life in general, it takes a lot of dissatisfaction before a real concerted effort is made to attain a goal on a consistent basis. For example, when an individual is pushed too far by the boss, they may eventually seek new employment, when possibly it was the individual holding himself or herself back - whether they actually leave is another matter. Again this links to associations to pain and pleasure. When dissatisfied enough with pain we become motivated to act but we are being totally reactive to the situation. When driven by pleasure or growth needs it is proactive measures or steps that help us to achieve through the needs desire.
Taking proactive measures in life will result in a consistent motivation which is driven by individual meaning, aspiration and achievement.
Cognitive theories of motivation – there are several other theories, which are processing theories of motivation. Leon Festinger’s theory of Cognitive Dissonance suggests that when there is a discrepancy between two beliefs or actions we will act to resolve the conflict and discrepancy. The essence is that if we think positively about a belief but deep down in our subconscious we feel quite negative about that belief then there is a disagreement that needs to be resolved. Generally the one we believe the most will be the chosen belief or association and hence drive behaviour. However if we create enough disequilibrium then we can change the patterns of our behaviour and hence change our habits.
Generally the theory of Cognitive Dissonance suggests we seek ‘Homeostasis’ in our lives, remaining within our comfort zones, giving balance to our lives and therefore resisting change.
Other theories of motivation tend to be psychoanalytical or spiritual theories. Frankl asserts that man’s ultimate motivation is the search for meaning, Jung the search for the soul or personal meaning. Freud’s ultimate drivers were life (sexual) and death (aggressive) based around the will to pleasure, Adler asserts the will to power.
Read the secret to motivation in Being & Becoming: In Search of a Positive World.
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