Secrets Behind Motivation

By: Malak Al-Saqri

Have you ever wondered what your life would be if it was all grey? Devoid of any vitality that motivates and inspires you to succeed, giving up easily without struggling or fighting for your dreams. This is exactly what motivation brings to your life! Isn't it difficult just to conceive this?

Therefore, whether you’re looking to take your career to the next level, start a new project, or make a positive change in your personal life, this article is for you. Let’s dive in and explore the power of motivation together.

We can define Motivation as the powerful force that drives you to achieve goals, fulfil your dreams and overcome challenges. Motivation activates your human behavior, it is the keystone of success, energy and determination that helps to reach your full potential. This in turn affects your personal and professional lives.

Why do you need motivation in your life?

It’s common to experience fluctuations in life, so it is essential to develop strategies to stay motivated consistently. Nothing makes you feel in charge of your life like motivation; it can be the perfect inspiration for taking action and boosting efficiency. Furthermore, Motivation fuels competition sparks social connection and improves overall well-being and happiness. Motivation can level up the work skills that any employee needs to get promoted, this, in turn, arises enthusiasm to accomplish tasks quickly to do a good job.

What causes motivation?

There are many factors that lead to motivation. These causes can be described as either External or Internal. In fact, understanding the causes will help you find your motivation, this is exactly what makes people feel the need to do actions and react toward things.

External Motivation (Extrinsic)

External factors have a profound effect on human behavior. They purely focus on the outside sources that drive you to perform at your best. External causes can be categorized into two types: Tangible such as Money, Grades, and special treats or Intangible such as Praise and Fame. This kind of motivation helps when someone doesn’t have any internal desire to engage in activities.
When People have something to do but they find it unpleasant, External Motivation will help them get inspired to accomplish it. External causes can make a person more interested in an activity or a task, moreover, it helps in learning a new thing and becoming a better individual.

Internal Motivation (Intrinsic)

Intrinsic motivation arises from within the individual. It is centrally involved in impulsive exploration, curiosity, and the internal desire to engage in an activity for its own sake. The behavior itself is its reward based on natural interests, values and passions. When we do something that we love, it’s like an engine that doesn’t need fuel, these feelings about being capable to achieve things because of your personal knowledge and skills, are internal motivators. As a result, Internal motivation leads to greater satisfaction and fulfilment.

How can fear lead to motivation?

Life is full of fears, we all recognize fear as a negative feeling that prevents us from taking risks and pursuing our dreams and goals. Whereas, it can be a strong motivator when we understand the power of fear and its impacts on behaviors. The consequence of not taking action can be a motivator to step out of comfort zone and push you out of your shelter.

According to Good Therapy website, Fear can be a motivator by forcing actions to react against feelings so that, behaviors might predict fear to avoid the consequence or risks. Considering fear as a challenge can trigger the inner fighter of every person to face all obstacles instead of dealing with them negatively.

This raises the question about “Amygdala” and its role in causing Fear. Based on a scientific study about brain functions done by Dr Anthony Wright, there is an area of the brain called the Amygdala, which is crucial to motivation. When stimulated, it sends information for our memories and helps us analyze information so that we can respond to or ignore it by activating feelings and physical reactions.

Tips for staying motivated

It is necessary to identify what motivates us, once we identify our motivation, we can take a step to maintain it. There are simple techniques you can follow that help maintain a high level of Motivation:

Strive for self-fulfillment

According to a book called Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation, when understanding our identity can enable us to honor our potential and accomplish more. If you clearly understand yourself, habits and values, you can make affirmative action to become a productive individual that can achieve goals. Moreover, investing in yourself guarantees a fulfilling meaningful life and relationships. As a result, it becomes easier to accomplish personal or professional goals.

Celebrate small victories

Celebrating victories can create the right environment for productivity and success. Doing so boosts Motivation and promotes greater productivity and dedication to become closer to the big win. Remember that every small, completed task contributes to the overall goal, and definitely, it is a sign of the progress that you have made.

Set a Realistic Measurable Goal

Goals should be specific in order to keep you focused on your attempt to achieve targets as quickly as possible; otherwise, tracking progress and deadlines will become unmanageable. Realistic clear goals are more motivating than vague ones, you can trust your abilities and feel self-esteem when you get closer to achieving your goals.

Practice positive visualization

It is all about believing in yourself. If you direct your subconscious to respond as if that outcomes were true in the present moment, you can make this future vision a reality and suddenly you will have the ability to achieve it. This is what we called the power of the mind.

To sum up, you need to know that Motivation is a continuous process, not a one-time event. It requires commitment, effort and dedication. With the right strategies, we can achieve great things and become the best version of ourselves. Nothing in life is taken for guaranteed, stay positive, smile and face obstacles with a powerful faith and believe that everything will turn out as you hoped.