Motivation

A key ingredient to achieving your dreams is understanding how motivation works, how to get yourself motivated and what style of motivation drives you.

Motivation is the umph! we need to keep moving toward our goals and dreams. The etymology of the word means to literally to stimulate toward action, or a cause for action.

These sources of motivation can be:

1.Intrinsic – meaning you had an idea to do something like get fit, so you started a work out plan. Or you wanted to learn a foreign language, so you signed up for a course.

2. Extrinsic – meaning someone around you pressured you into doing something. An extreme form of this could be an intervention orchestrated by a friend group or family. Extrinsic motivation happens any time there’s outside pressure to change.

3. Fear-based – this happens when you’re motivated to do something because of a fear of failure. This kicks in when you’ve told someone about your goals and you’re afraid of disappointing that person. Fear-based motivation could also help you to overcome your fears. Let’s say you have a fear of flying but you want to travel. You are then motivated to overcome that fear to achieve another goal.

4. Achievement-based – this is where you are motivated to achieve a certain status, complete a task, recognition for work done, or doing certain things in life purely for the “experience points”. I tend to fall into this category and will take on challenging projects or conversations just for the experience of having completed the task.

5. Incentive-based – this is a another version of achievement-based motivation where you can incentivize yourself with smaller rewards. An example could be rewarding yourself with a new “toy” for completing a fitness goal.

6. Attitude Motivation – this is a new form of motivation I just learned about. It’s based on the idea of changing the way you see the world and your belief systems to enhance the quality of your life. I would probably associate this with refining and practicing spiritual beliefs. It can also be related to being motivated to work for a non-profit with a specific cause in an effort to change other’s ideas and beliefs.

7. Family Motivated – this is for people who are motivated to take care of their family or the people they love.

8. Creativity Motivated – applies to people who are motivated by the desire for creative expression. This may also mean that you feel you have a message or something to say that you want to get out into the world.

9. Learning/Competence Motivated – this is a desire to learn and continue to learn. This would be the motivation for a professional student. Someone who just loves learning and being in a learning environment.

10. Psychological Motivation – In this context this means being motivated to fulfill a need from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. These would be the needs for food, shelter, and self-fulfillment.

These motivations are the driving factors behind behaviors. You can utilize different types of motivation in different situations of life to better serve you. Having an understanding of these different types and applying their uses can help you to achieve your goals.

Conversely, you can look at your behaviors and determine which type of motivation is in play that is causing that behavior. This can help you to break out of negative habits to develop a better life. An example I can think of is quitting smoking. For me smoking was a way to take a break from a situation and calm some anxiety. By learning some simple breathing techniques and applying certain phrases, I was able to learn more healthy coping mechanisms that allow me to stay more connected to others while giving myself what I need in the moment.

That’s a lot to take in and consider. Let’s break the idea of motivation down into some tips and tricks you can use to get yourself moving!

TIPS!

• Exercise
• Build A Support System
• Declare Your Goals
• Look at Your Goals Daily
• Find Inspiration
• One Goal at A Time
• Smile
• Go For a Walk (get moving)
• Recognize the Ebb and Flow of Motivation
• Take Smaller Steps
• Celebrate Your Success
• Call for Help
• Focus on the Benefits
• Positive Affirmations
• Research Others Who Have Achieved Your Dream
• Talk About Your Dreams with A Friend

Do you have any additional tips for motivation? Are there any particular motivation styles you gravitate towards? Mention them below in the comments!