Psychology of motivation: how to find the strength to move towards your goal
The psychology of motivation is the study of what motivates people to act in certain ways.
Motivation can be internal and external.
Intrinsic motivation comes from within ourselves - we want to achieve something to satisfy our own needs. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside in the form of reward or punishment.
To find the strength to move towards your goal, it is important to understand your deepest needs.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow identified 5 levels of needs - physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualization. The higher the level, the stronger the motivation.
To build an effective motivational system you need to:
- Determine your true values and goals. Ask yourself, "Why do I need this?"
- Formulate specific and measurable tasks. Break the global goal into steps.
- Create positive feedback. Reward yourself for your achievements.
- Eliminate demotivators. Determine what is hindering movement and, if possible, remove these barriers.
- Surround yourself with motivating people. Being around like-minded people increases motivation.
Once the motivation system is built, it is important to maintain internal motivation - the desire to move towards a goal for the sake of self-development and satisfying higher-level needs.
Internal motivation is stronger than external, but sometimes it is useful to add external incentives. For example, promise yourself a reward for completing a stage. The main thing is that the reward does not become an end in itself.
To stay motivated:
- Focus on the process, not just the result. Enjoy the activity.
- Diversify routine tasks. Add creativity to everyday activities.
- Create rituals and traditions that remind you of your purpose and give you meaning.
- Analyze your successes and failures to understand your motivational strengths and weaknesses.
Every time your motivation weakens, return to your values and remember why you are moving towards your goal. This will help you find strength again.
In addition to internal motivation, external environmental factors are important, which can either weaken or strengthen it.
Demotivating factors are often:
- Lack of resources and opportunities. For example, a person dreams of starting his own business, but he does not have the start-up capital.
- Difficulties and obstacles. If the path to the goal is too thorny, motivation decreases.
- Negative environment. Criticism and ridicule dampen inner enthusiasm.
- Overload and stress. If a person is exhausted, he has no energy left for development.
To prevent a drop in motivation due to external factors, it is important:
- Create a constructive environment. Surround yourself with positive and supportive people.
- Eliminate stressors and overload. Don't take on too much.
- Look for alternative routes when faced with difficulties. Go around obstacles or overcome them in parts.
- Develop important skills and qualities. Increase your competence in the required areas.
Maintaining motivation is a constant internal work on building a strong internal motivational system and creating favorable conditions for its implementation. And then you will always find the strength to move towards your goals.
Earlier I talked about how to show employees that you value their work.
