Motivation can be described as a force external or internal that initiates action in a person which is oriented towards his goal. Motivation causes action in us. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside of the individual. It is driven by external factors such as money, trophies, prizes, grades, or praises. When someone motivates you, it is external motivation. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is just the opposite of extrinsic motivation. It comes from inside of the person. Whenever you do something for your own enjoyment and fun, you are intrinsically motivated to that task. If a student gets a bad grade in his history exam, he will study to improve his grade. This is extrinsic motivation for the student. But if the student is studying history because of his own interest, because he wants to know what all happened in the ancient times, he is intrinsically motivated to do so. Therefore, when we do a task because it is our duty, or someone has told us to complete task we are being extrinsically motivated and when we do something because we want to do it, it is not necessary for us to do it but still we are doing it, then we are intrinsically motivated to do it.
Why is Motivation Important?
Motivation is important for everyone. Motivation is necessary for a good start. If a person lacks motivation, he cannot start any task in a proper and organized way. Motivation provides the right attitude to a start a new task. Motivation helps you to keep on working. When the person feels low, when he thinks that he cannot continue the task, motivation helps the person to complete the task. Motivation also boosts the confidence of a person.
When a person thinks that he is not fit for the job, the right motivation can encourage him to throw all the negative thoughts from his mind and then he can prove that he was wrong. Motivation can encourage the person to do what he wants to do. It encourages him to follow his results. In the absence of motivation, a person becomes a pessimist. This has a direct impact on his result or the goal. The performance of the person gets affected. The person will perform below his standard.
How to Stay Motivated?
One can always stay motivated by following the below-given points:
- Have a Good Attitude: A person’s attitude is the first thing that motivates him. If a person will have a negative attitude towards things, he will himself be demotivated. If the person will automatically think even before starting the work that nothing will go in his favour he will be already be demotivated and will not do the task. For example, a boss gives a very important responsibility to his employee, the employee may develop a fear of the responsibility because he may think that if he will not be able to fulfil it, he may lose his job. This fear is the first towards a negative attitude. This fear develops negative thinking in his mind. He may think that he is not the right one for the job or he may do anything but destiny will not let him fulfil the responsibility. This is nothing but demotivation. If the person will show a positive attitude and think that if he is given a responsibility there must be something in him due to which the responsibility is given to him and he is the only one who can fulfil it, the person will feel motivated. Differences in the results of both cases can be compared and it will be seen that a person with a healthy attitude will perform well because he feels motivated.
- Stop Worrying: There are some things which you can handle at your own level but there are also some things which are beyond your scope of handling. These things which cannot be controlled by a person create worries in his mind and demotivates him. For example, a person wants to start a routine of waking up early in the morning and going for a walk. The person can control his sleep so he should focus on that rather than thinking that if he goes out and it starts to rain, or if he will get hurt, or he will fall sick. All these things are beyond his control so why to worry about them. Worries are part of demotivation. In the long run, worries may develop into fears. So, Focus on the things which can be controlled by you and forget about other things and let them happen. If you develop this kind of attitude you will automatically feel motivated.
- Be with the People who Motivates You: The company of a person has a great impact on his life. The person will gradually become like the people he stays with. If the people in the company are filled with negative thoughts, they will demotivate the person and eventually the person’s thinking will also become negative. If a person tells his friends that he wants to participate in a sports competition and his friends say that there is no purpose of participating because at the end he will lose the competition, the persons become demotivated and will definitely get defeated even without participating. But if the friends motivate him and tell him that he should participate because there are chances that he can win the competition, the person will become hopeful and he may also win the competition. Therefore the company of a person matters a lot. If there are people in your company who fill your mind with negativities or demotivates you, then you should stay away from those people as they will not let you succeed in life.
- Learn from your Mistakes: It is human nature to commit a mistake but repeating the same mistake, again and again, is foolishness. If you commit a mistake do not get demotivated. You are not the only one in this whole world who has done this mistake. Mistakes are totally normal. Do not feel that if you do a mistake in any work you are not suitable for that work. There may be other people who have committed more mistakes than you while doing the same work. Instead of getting demotivated you should work on your mistakes. First of all, find out what your mistake is. Then think about how you did that mistake and why did it happen. And then finally think of all the possible solutions to rectify the mistake. But rectifying the mistake is not enough. You should make sure that you do not repeat the mistake. You should learn from the mistakes you did. This is the right way to handle a mistake.
- Take a Look at your Achievements: This is the best way to stay motivated. Look at all your trophies, certificates, awards, prizes which you have achieved in previous years of life. Looking at these will make you think that if you can achieve these you can definitely achieve more. This will motivate you to work even harder so that there is a new achievement in your pocket. Taking a look at them will also provide you with happiness which is a part of the motivation. A happy person can perform well than an unhappy one. So whenever you feel frustrated, sad, depressed, or demotivated for your goal take a look at all your achievements and try to remember what all hard work you did to get all these and think that if you can work for these achievements, then you can work for your future goals also.
- Frequently Remind yourself about Your Goals: Firstly, think about the reasons why you want to accomplish this goal. Make a list of all the pros and cons associated with it. Try to think about your life after you have completed your goal. That will be definitely joyful. That joy may become your motivation. If you want to feel that joy you need to work on your goal. If you will keep on reminding yourself about this at regular intervals then you will never feel demotivated while working for your goal.
- Divide Your Goal into Small Sub Goals: When you think of a goal, divide it into sub-goals. Whenever you achieve a sub-goal it will be a step towards your victory. These small victories will provide you happiness and motivation. If you will achieve your first subgoal, you will be motivated to work for your second subgoal and this will continue as you will keep on achieving the sub-goals. And eventually, you will reach your final goal.
Conclusion
It is said that to be champion you need to believe in yourself when nobody else believes you. This belief is your motivation. If you know you can do it, then you will definitely be able to do it and if you want to do it there is no force in the world that can stop you from doing it. A goal cannot be achieved by just wishing for it. You need to work for it. When you understand this, you get the required motivation. It is only you who can work for achieving your own goal. It is you who needs to work hard. Hard work can make difficult tasks easy and it may also make impossible things possible. What you have to do is work hard without losing hope. No dream is so big that it cannot be achieved. If you have the capability of dreaming about it then you have the capability of achieving it too. So dream big and stay motivated and as they say, work hard until your idols become your rivals.
