Motivation – What Does it Mean to be Motivated?

The process that guides initiate, and maintains goals is known as motivation. Motivation is what causes you to respond whether it is gaining knowledge from a book or getting up to get yourself a glass of water if you are thirsty. Motivation consists of the social, cognitive, emotional, and biological forces that turn-on behavior.

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Types of Motivation

To define motivation, you have to determine the type of motivation you are referring to. Motivation can be defined as either intrinsic or extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from within a person. This can be doing things such as a crossword puzzle that is difficult just to obtain personal gratification for solving an issue. Extrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from outside an individual. This type of motivation typically consists of rewards including money, social recognition, praise, or trophies.

How is motivation used?

Motivation can be used in many ways. It acts as a force to guide people. However, it is important to understand the way motivation works and certain factors that may have an impact on it.

Understanding motivation can help individuals to:

Take action
Be encouraged to take part in health-oriented behaviors
Feel more in control of their lives
Avoid behaviors that are maladaptive or unhealthy such as addiction
Improve their well-being and happiness
Work towards goals

What impact does motivation have?

If you have ever set a goal, you probably realized right away that having a desire to do it just wasn’t enough. Accomplishing a goal such as losing weight or running a marathon requires people to have the ability to be consistent when experiencing obstacles. No matter what difficulties or challenges come in the way, you must maintain your endurance.

Three major components make up motivation including activation, persistence, and intensity.

Activation simply consists of the ability to initiate a behavior such as enrolling in a nursing program. Persistence means that you maintain consistency towards reaching your goal even though challenges may appear throughout the process. Intensity simply means the amount of strength and concentration you put into pursuing your goal.

How to Motivate Yourself

Everyone experiences some type of fluctuation in their willpower and motivation. There are times when you may feel highly driven to reach the goals you set for yourself. There may also be times when you may feel unsure of how you will be able to reach your goals.

If you are not feeling motivated or motivated enough to help you keep moving forward, there are a few things you can do to keep pushing:

Make adjustments to your goals to only focus on things that really matter.
If you are facing challenges with things that are just too overwhelming, divide them into smaller steps and focus your attention on accomplishing the first step towards reaching that goal.
Improve your self-confidence.
Remember that you have accomplished a lot in the past and that your strength still exists.
Try working on making any improvements you have in areas that you feel insecure about.