Motivation.
Being passive is not our default mode as human beings. Otherwise, we would have been born as a sloth or a panda bear (no offense to these lovely creatures).It is in our nature to strive, to want, and to move in a direction of something we desire and deem valuable. This blog explains the reasons why understanding human motivation is important and well worth the time spent on learning to increase it. It lists many benefits of healthy motivation and distinguishes the types of motivation that are more effective in dealing with our complex and rapidly changing environment.
Why is Motivation Important?
Why is it important to understand motivation? Why do we care about what people want and why they want it? How about because it can improve our lives.
Understanding motivation gives us many valuable insights into human nature. It explains why we set goals, strive for achievement and power, why we have desires for psychological intimacy and biological sex, why we experience emotions like fear, anger, and compassion.
Learning about motivation is valuable because it helps us understand where motivation comes from, why it changes, what increases and decreases it, what aspects of it can and cannot be changed, and helps us answer the question of why some types of motivation are more beneficial than others.
Motivation reflects something unique about each one of us and allows us to gain valued outcomes like improved performance, enhanced wellbeing, personal growth, or a sense of purpose. Motivation is a pathway to change our way of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Benefits of Motivation
Finding ways to increase motivation is crucial because it allows us to change behaviour, develop competencies, be creative, set goals, grow interests, make plans, develop talents, and boost engagement. Applying motivational science to everyday life helps us to motivate employees, coach athletes, raise children, counsel clients, and engage students.
The benefits of motivation are visible in how we live our lives. As we are constantly responding to changes in our environment, we need motivation to take corrective action in the face of fluctuating circumstances. Motivation is a vital resource that allows us to adapt, function productively, and maintain wellbeing in the face of a constantly changing stream of opportunities and threats.
There are many health benefits of increased motivation. Motivation as a psychological state is linked to our physiology. When our motivation is depleted, our functioning and wellbeing suffer.
High-quality motivation allows us to thrive, while its deficit causes us to flounder. Social benefits of increased motivation are visible in greater student engagement, better job satisfaction in employees, flourishing relationships, and institutions.
But unhealthy fluctuations in motivation also explain addiction, gambling, risk-taking, and excessive internet usage. The motivation that underlies addictive behaviours shares the neurological underpinning associated with dopamine centric rewards system and tricky inner working of the pleasure cycle. This makes it challenging and often difficult to change behaviour in situations involving addiction.
Why Motivation is Important in Life
If you want to achieve greatness, you need to stop asking for permission. This is why motivation is important in life because it stops asking questions and aligns you to work towards your goals.
Goals are the stepping stones toward your dreams so in order to achieve them, you need motivation to keep you chugging along towards them.
Not everyone is born with motivation. There is a severe lack in some who believe ‘I’ll get to that one day’ or ‘the timing isn’t right’ or a classic case of ‘I can’t do that’. Motivation is the defining factor that turns a good thought into immediate action. It turns a good idea into a business and can positively impact the world around you.
Without motivation, you can’t achieve anything. There are no goal posts to aim for and no purpose to strive towards.
Motivation is an important life skill. The reason it’s important is because every person on this earth is unique and has a purpose. To steward your purpose well, you have to be motivated to work towards your goals which helps your dreams become a reality. Not, just for your sake, but the sake of others as well.
If Steve Jobs wasn’t motivated to start Apple, you wouldn’t have a Macbook air, iPhone or iPad.
You wouldn’t be holding that designer handbag or be wearing those clothes if a designer wasn’t motivated to turn their visualization into a realization.
You live in a world where motivation has solved problems and produced products and services you never knew you needed.
Motivation can also help you personally to be the best you you can be. This can have a positive effect on your confidence, relationships and the community you live in.
If you’re still not convinced about building up your motivation, here are eight reasons why motivation is important in life.
1. MOTIVATION CLARIFIES A GOAL
When you’re motivated, you have a desire to change your life. Motivation pushes you towards your goal because of a desire for change. Motivation helps you clarify your goal so you know exactly what you’re working towards.
2. MOTIVATION SETS PRIORITIES IN LIFE
Once you know what you goal is, motivation helps you prioritise your life. If your goal is to write a book, you need to set time aside each week to write it. Motivation helps you to focus and make a commitment to seeing your goal accomplished.
3. MOTIVATION PUSHES THROUGH SETBACKS
Every road to success will have a setback. There is no such thing as a dream route to reach your dreams. Setbacks will have you doubt whether your goal is worth the effort, but motivation steps in and gives you the strength and courage to try again.
4. MOTIVATION TEACHES PERSEVERANCE
This ties in with the previous point, but motivation helps you strive through setbacks, trials and fears. Thomas Edison is known for the invention of the light bulb and is noted for this quote, ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ The famous inventor also inspired this thought, ‘Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.’ Motivation will teach you to persevere when reality tells you to give up.
5. MOTIVATION FIGHTS AGAINST FEAR
Fear of failure is so common it can literally stop you from taking action. Motivation kicks fear in the bum because it tells it, no matter what I’m feeling, I’m going to do it anyway. Motivated people see beyond their fear and can visualize the outcome. Motivation will always help you see the bigger picture.
6. MOTIVATION BUILDS SELF-CONFIDENCE
When you’re motivated to achieve your goal, confidence is a by-product of the little steps taken to see that goal achieved. When you’ve pushed through setbacks and fear, there is a sense of accomplishment and this builds an inner confidence to try something new. Motivated people will have a few projects on the go because they have pushed through barriers and seen positive results, which gives them motivation to start new projects and try new things.
7. MOTIVATION ATTRACTS YOUR TRIBE
If you’ve ever met a motivated person, their, vibe can be alluring and inspiring. You want to align with their energy so you can draw from their expertise. In turn, this helps build your motivation to succeed.
The same can be said of a business manager. If you require a team to help you achieve your dream, a good leader will know how to use their motivation to pioneer a spirit of drive and desire within the team to see results. Employees will want to work with you and for you if they are valued and can take hold of the vision by their leader.
8. MOTIVATION INSPIRES OTHERS
Motivation is an attractive trait and it can inspire others to make things happen in their own life. If you’ve ever met or hung out with a self-motivated person, you instantly feel like you can achieve anything because their positivity and can-do attitude elevates your own spirit. Seeking out a motivated person can help elevate your own motivation levels.
Motivation is a muscle that needs to be constantly worked and this can be achieved by reading biographies, enrolling in training and listening to motivational speakers who can share their own successes, while building you up.
Until Next Month
Stay MOTIVATED, Stay POSITVE and BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Have a great month
Jon
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