Motivation

There are two levers with which you can move people – fear and self-interest.

Napoleon I Bonaparte

I think all of you, dear readers, are well aware that motivation plays a very important role in our lives. It depends on her how active, purposeful, persistent and persistent a person will be, and even, one might say, “alive”, in the broader sense of the word. And the fact that we need to be just such in this life in order to live it worthy is, in my opinion, obvious. But the importance of importance, and after all, you also need to use motivation correctly, in order to competently manage your energy and your desires, and not let other people do it. We ourselves must decide what to strive for in this life and in what way, because our life is our life, and no one except us has the right to dispose of it. Other people can be a worthy role model for us, teachers, mentors, inspirers, but not by those who will decide for us how and why we should live. So let’s look at the topic of motivation in the most thorough way so that you, friends, can learn how to properly motivate, first of all, yourself, and, if possible and necessary, other people.

First of all, of course, let’s find out with you what motivation is. Let’s define this word and concept. After all, we need to understand what exactly we are dealing with. Motivation is a power based on deep desire, which makes people strive to achieve their goals. That, in general, is all that can be said about her. But during the discussion of this issue, you, dear readers, will make sure that motivation is a much more complex concept than can be seen from its definition.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation is external and internal. Let’s first find out what intrinsic motivation is. Intrinsic motivation [intrusive] is a person’s driving force that does not arise from external influences, but originates within the person himself. What generates this power within us? A very good example in this case, I think, will be such an emotion as interest, that is, interest in something or someone, thanks to which we feel a desire to do something. I really like this particular example, because when we do something, primarily out of interest, or we can even say, out of love for this matter, we do it very well, because we consider this matter to be our own and see the point in it . Just imagine that I’m doing something, primarily because I’m interested in it, and not because I have to or have to do it, for the same money or something else. In this case, do I have the right to consider the business to which I have shown interest and which I myself have chosen to be a manifestation of my own desire? I suppose I have. So in this case we are talking about my inner motivation. I do what I want to do, but I want to do what I am interested in. But why I am interested in something is another question. It is not at all necessary that my interest in something originates exclusively within myself and is in no way connected with the outside world. But this is not the point – the point is how my interest can be connected with the outside world. Here I believe that such a feeling as freedom plays an important role. And what is freedom? First of all, it is freedom of choice, right? to which I showed interest and which I myself chose – a manifestation of my own desire? I suppose I have. So in this case we are talking about my inner motivation. I do what I want to do, but I want to do what I am interested in. But why I am interested in something is another question. It is not at all necessary that my interest in something originates exclusively within myself and is in no way connected with the outside world. But this is not the point – the point is how my interest can be connected with the outside world. Here I believe that such a feeling as freedom plays an important role. And what is freedom? First of all, it is freedom of choice, right? to which I showed interest and which I myself chose – a manifestation of my own desire? I suppose I have. So in this case we are talking about my inner motivation. I do what I want to do, but I want to do what I am interested in. But why I am interested in something is another question. It is not at all necessary that my interest in something originates exclusively within myself and is in no way connected with the outside world. But this is not the point – the point is how my interest can be connected with the outside world. Here I believe that such a feeling as freedom plays an important role. And what is freedom? First of all, it is freedom of choice, right? But why I am interested in something is another question. It is not at all necessary that my interest in something originates exclusively within myself and is in no way connected with the outside world. But this is not the point – the point is how my interest can be connected with the outside world. Here I believe that such a feeling as freedom plays an important role. And what is freedom? First of all, it is freedom of choice, right? But why I am interested in something is another question. It is not at all necessary that my interest in something originates exclusively within myself and is in no way connected with the outside world. But this is not the point – the point is how my interest can be connected with the outside world. Here I believe that such a feeling as freedom plays an important role. And what is freedom? First of all, it is freedom of choice, right?

So, let’s say, when I was choosing whom to study for — I was guided not by someone else’s advice and did not even take into account the needs of the labor market, I was guided solely by my interest and my idea of ​​what is important to me in this life. I was told – go to study as a lawyer or economist, or at worst as a programmer, because these specialists are in demand in the labor market and are well paid. And I replied that I do not care about the labor market, I do not care about who he needs – I will study what is interesting to me, namely, psychology. I will study it because I want it, because it is interesting to me, and because I believe that the knowledge that it gives is one of the most important for life. Of course, there are other sciences that are also very interesting and no less useful for life, the same philosophy is the mother of all sciences, which helps people gain wisdom, or medicine, which takes care of human health, the importance of which we all perfectly understand. Or, speaking of the exact sciences, physics is also a very interesting science. But what I like most is psychology, so I decided to study it. And everything else, I am also interested, but to a slightly lesser extent. I would be happy to study everything that is in this world, because I understand that the world is not divided into sciences – it is one and complete, therefore everything needs to be known in it. That’s just no life is enough for it, to learn everything, to study everything. Therefore, you have to choose something specific. The main thing is that this is something concrete, we liked that we were interested in this. if we talk about the exact sciences, physics is also a very interesting science. But what I like most is psychology, so I decided to study it. And everything else, I am also interested, but to a lesser extent. I would be happy to study everything that is in this world, because I understand that the world is not divided into sciences – it is one and whole, therefore everything needs to be known in it. That’s just no life is enough for it, to learn everything, to study everything. Therefore, you have to choose something specific. The main thing is that this is something concrete, we liked that we were interested in this. if we talk about the exact sciences, physics is also a very interesting science. But what I like most is psychology, so I decided to study it. And everything else, I am also interested, but to a lesser extent. I would be happy to study everything that is in this world, because I understand that the world is not divided into sciences – it is one and whole, therefore everything needs to be known in it. That’s just no life is enough for it, to learn everything, to study everything. Therefore, you have to choose something specific. The main thing is that this is something concrete, we liked that we were interested in this. because I understand that the world is not divided into sciences – it is one and whole, therefore everything needs to be known in it. That’s just no life is enough for it, to learn everything, to study everything. Therefore, you have to choose something specific. The main thing is that this is something concrete, we liked that we were interested in this. because I understand that the world is not divided into sciences – it is one and whole, therefore everything needs to be known in it. That’s just no life is enough for it, to learn everything, to study everything. Therefore, you have to choose something specific. The main thing is that this is something concrete, we liked that we were interested in this.

As for making money, friends, let’s face it – really cool specialists, especially in areas such as psychology, which will live as long as people live, always and almost everywhere. Therefore, in order not to be left without a piece of bread – I, and in general anyone, just have to become one of the best in my field, then a person will not have money problems. And in order to become something better, a person must love what he does. And how can you fall in love with something – if you yourself did not choose what you should do, if you have no sincere interest in your business, because you do not consider it yours? Well, people, of course, manage to fall in love with what they just get used to, but as for me,

So without strong intrinsic motivation, you cannot become one of the best in your business, unless you love money so much that you are ready to try to be the best in what you do for their sake. But as life shows, money does not always contribute to a person’s dedication to his work, they rather contribute to his devotion to himself. And dedication based on love and interest in it, and dedication to the money that is earned from this business are two different things.

In addition to what has been said above, it should also be said that our desires, based on our interest in something, are to some extent caused by external stimuli. Although I speak of interest as a manifestation of internal motivation, I’m afraid that this emotion is not so simple. And if we talk about it more deeply, then we will definitely see its connection with external influence on us. Say, my desire to study psychology, based on my interest in it, to a certain extent was also caused by the impact on me of the outside world. The same interest did not arise on its own, it was formed under the influence of external factors, and in particular, it came to me thanks to the information about psychology that I received from the outside world. But now we do not really need such reasoning, the main thing for us to understand is that interest in something

Now let’s return to one very important thought that I expressed above – the thought of a feeling of freedom. It is the feeling of freedom that maintains in a person intrinsic motivation at an extremely high level. I have personally seen this many times. And freedom is, as I have said, above all freedom of choice. Well, when a person is convinced that his decision is the result of his own choice, then his intrinsic motivation is strong enough and long-lasting. That is why free or conditionally free people are always better motivated than those people who are forced to do something in any way. And the interest in something I mentioned above often arises precisely when a person feels free, and what is especially important – if he wants to be free. Here, you know, it’s not so simple either. After all, freedom is not only freedom of choice, but also responsibility. And not every person is ready to carry it. Therefore, not all people love freedom. And love of freedom is the basis of inner motivation. This means that not all people can be motivated from within, or rather, it is very difficult to do. Therefore, some of them have to be motivated from the outside.

Love as such, for now, I will not consider it as internal motivation, since we first need to figure out what true love is. And we will do this in another article. Nevertheless, we all know that loving people are very motivated. And their love, from the point of view of motivation, is a synthesis of external and internal motivation.

Let’s look at another example of internal motivation – these are our inborn needs, which we strive to satisfy in various ways. We can still call them instinctive needs, since they are inherent in us by nature. So, in addition to assigning these needs to intrinsic motivation, they can also be divided into individual, group, and cognitive motivation. Individual motivation is based on needs such as hunger, thirst, sex drive, the desire to avoid pain, the desire for comfort, and so on. Group motivation is caused by such needs as caring for offspring, the desire to take a certain place in the group hierarchy, the desire to please other people, maintaining the inherent in a particular type of society structure and some other needs. And speaking of cognitive motivation, we can cite as an example such needs as the need for exploring the world around us, the need for gaming activities, as well as curiosity and interest, as I wrote above. The common feature of all these types of motivation is that they are based on our inborn needs, and therefore, they are related to intrinsic motivation. Although, if you think about it this way, then of course, one cannot but recognize the importance of external factors, on which our desire to satisfy one or another of our needs depends, as a matter of priority. Say, the need for security can, in certain situations, replace our need for the same comfort, that is, one need can come into conflict with another, due to external circumstances, and then we will be forced to choose which decision to make,

So I repeat, many external and internal factors influence our motivation, therefore it is impossible to assert with complete certainty that a particular person is motivated exclusively by internal or exclusively external forces.

I am convinced that success in any business depends to a large extent on intrinsic motivation, since it is it that is able to maintain a passion for something in us for a very long time, and in some cases all our lives. But external motivation is very important for a person, as it allows him to act flexibly, situationally, taking into account all changes in the external environment. Now let’s talk about her now.

External motivation

So what is external motivation. External motivation [extrinsic] is a force that is caused in a person by circumstances external to him. In other words, something from outside causes a certain emotion in you, and this emotion releases energy in you that feeds your desires. And what causes these or those emotions in us, what external circumstances? These may be circumstances in which we feel strong positive or strong negative emotions. Well, for example, a person’s desire to occupy a certain position in society, on the one hand, is associated with his innate need for this, and therefore with internal motivation, and on the other hand, it all depends on the person’s satisfaction with his life. If you don’t like your life so much that you want to change it, by raising your social status, you will strive for this, guided to varying degrees by different emotions and feelings. Let’s say you can feel angry that someone is commanding you, someone is forcing you to do something that you don’t like, someone is restricting your options, your freedom, and so on. Or, you may have a strong desire to get something, for example, some pleasure that is available to those who have great opportunities. And maybe both of them will affect you to varying degrees – both the reluctance to live a bad life from your point of view, and the desire to live a beautiful life. someone is restricting your ability, your freedom, and so on. Or, you may have a strong desire to get something, for example, some pleasure that is available to those who have great opportunities. And maybe both of them will affect you to varying degrees – both the reluctance to live a bad life, from your point of view, and the desire to live a beautiful life. someone is restricting your ability, your freedom, and so on. Or, you may have a strong desire to get something, for example, some pleasure that is available to those who have great opportunities. And maybe both of them will affect you to varying degrees – both the reluctance to live a bad life from your point of view, and the desire to live a beautiful life.

External motivation must be constantly maintained, for which it is necessary to accept and overcome new challenges of the external world, thereby awakening new strong emotions, both positive and negative. You cannot be satisfied with what you have achieved, you cannot put up with circumstances that do not suit you, suppressing your dissatisfaction with them and deceiving yourself with the help of “pink glasses”. If you want something – take it, or rather, strive for it in an acceptable way for you. Do not suppress your desires; look for the opportunity to satisfy them. And the same can be said about those things that do not suit you in life – do not put up with them, look for an opportunity to change your life. As soon as a person begins to get used to the bad and ceases to strive for more and better, he loses his inner strength and loses his energy. And an unmotivated person loses interest in life itself, which begins to seem meaningless to him. He also lowers his self-esteem, due to the fact that he ceases to succeed and struggle with what does not suit him.

A challenge is what a person needs to be always motivated enough. This challenge may be thrown by other people, circumstances, or by himself. But this challenge must be accepted in order to awaken the necessary forces and energy in oneself. Fear, anger, greed, vanity, sex drive, desire for self-realization, interest – all these emotions constantly arise in every person, but not everyone uses them to motivate themselves to achieve any goals or to fight various circumstances.

External motivation, of course, does not always reflect our interests, so it does not make sense to answer all the challenges of the outside world. For example, each person wants to possess something and this desire forms the basis of his motivation, but much of what people want to possess can be caused by external influence on them, and not by their natural need. Bad or good depends on each case. Take, for example, the same advertising that encourages people to buy sometimes completely unnecessary things. On the one hand, motivation is good if it encourages a person to do something, to strive for something, in order to possess something. But on the other hand, to burn your life in pursuit of what you don’t really need, often sacrificing more important things, more important values ​​- this is not, in my opinion, the best way to live your life. Not for nothing that many people, at first wanting something very much, after some time lose interest in this and all give up, or cease to enjoy the same purchase. This is a sign that their desire, caused by external factors, was unreal, because it did not meet their actual needs. And in some situations it’s the opposite – external factors can have a positive effect on a person, prompting him to something useful for him. Let’s say some smart person can cause you to have a strong desire to learn something that will change your life for the better. For example, it may encourage you to learn how to make money in some interesting way that you have not shown interest in or previously did not know about. Or he can bring up some useful habit in you, for example, the habit of self-education, with the help of which you can rise to unprecedented heights. So external motivation can be different, both in terms of its form [different emotions], and in terms of what it induces [different desires].

Any motivation, both external and internal, can be stable and unstable. Sustainable motivation is largely based on the needs of a person, that is, on those inborn needs, which he cannot do without, since his life depends on it. This motivation does not require additional reinforcement, because regardless of our desires, we will always want to eat, drink, sleep, have sex drive until a certain point and so on. Therefore, while a person is alive, he will strive to meet certain of his needs related to maintaining his life. In cases with intrinsic motivation, these needs have a simpler form, when, for example, a person seeks to satisfy a feeling of hunger in the simplest way for him. And in cases with external motivation, a person has a desire to satisfy his needs in some special way – for example, not just to satisfy his hunger, but to do this by absorbing special foods, for example, very tasty and expensive. Or, if we are talking about the desire to have a home, then external motivation may prompt him to have a luxurious home, and therefore very expensive, for which you need to do a lot. At the same time, external motivation can be very stable if a person very much wants to get what interests him. For example, a person can dream long and hard about something, because once this something made a very strong impression on him. Some people aspire to their dream all their lives, without even doubting that it is really important for them.

Volatile motivation is a short motivation that requires constant reinforcement. For example, a person may have a desire to achieve some goal, well, say, to earn a lot of money, in some specific way. Or it may be the desire to lose weight, or quit smoking, or learn something. To achieve these goals – a person needs to constantly remember what he is doing for – he must see in front of him either the “carrot” that he wants to receive, or someone or something should push it with the help of “kicks”, so that he does not relax. Volatile motivation is often associated with a person’s lack of faith in ultimate success, and along with his lack of faith in himself. That’s why sometimes it’s very important during the pursuit of one’s goal to achieve small successes, so to speak, of intermediate victories, which will increase a person’s faith in himself and in his goal. Sometimes it’s important to just notice and fix these small victories in your mind, and sometimes you need to imagine them in order to strengthen your faith.

In general, we should be aware of any of our desires, so that no one, including ourselves, can switch us from them to something else that may be less important and valuable to us. Our desires may indeed be our desires, independent of other people, or may be the result of exposure to other people or circumstances. But in any case, these desires need to be supported in themselves, you need to reinforce your motivation with correct, conscious thoughts, energizing words, vivid images, strong desires, various external stimuli that cause you, both positive and negative, but together with those that stimulate activity, emotions. Suppose you want to get rich and for this you need to do something specific – to learn something, to do some work, to agree on something with someone, and so on. So that this desire does not disappear, that the motivation in you is maintained at a level sufficient to carry out the necessary actions, you can compare yourself with other people who are more successful than you in the business in which you want to succeed. If this does not suppress you, but rather causes you to feel angry and / or envy, or any other feeling that pushes you forward, then this comparison will make you stubborn and generally active. Other people can cause you admiration, and thus motivate you to achieve goals that are important to you. To understand what makes you active, study yourself, your feelings, desires. Look for something that does not give you peace, that arouses strong emotions in you, no matter what, positive or negative, although it is desirable that they be positive, thanks to which you are ready to do something that you

Carrot and stick

Speaking of motivation, one cannot but say that both internal and external motivation are divided into two types – motivation, which is based on pain, and motivation, which is based on pleasure. These two types of motivation are also called: “from” and “to.” That is, in one case, a person wants to get away from something – from some kind of pain, from discomfort, from something that he does not like, and in another, he wants to come to something – to pleasure, fortunately, to joy, to bliss. More figuratively, we are talking about the “carrot and stick method”. This is a method of encouragement and punishment. Here we can say that punishment is rather an incentive than motivation, but since the punishment can be different, including one in which a person is punished by depriving him of something, some benefits, privileges, position in society,

Thus, we can say that some people are better motivated by pain, suffering, deprivation, humiliation, and for others, a good motivation is the desire to have fun, the desire to find happiness, regardless of what they see for themselves, the desire to experience the joy of achievement some goals, from victories and the like. We can also say that people motivated by a “whip” are afraid of losing something, and people motivated by a “carrot” want to gain something. In life, I must say, both of these motivations are useful in their own way. And as a rule, they are combined with each other for greater efficiency. A person should always understand that he will lose if he does not do something and what he will gain if he does, then he will be more active. Both of these types of motivation are associated with both external and internal motivations. I.e, a person himself can hurt himself, mainly moral, in order to motivate himself to something, and in the same way, other people, or in general external circumstances, can hurt him, which will become a good motivation for him to act. It is the same with pleasure – we ourselves can awaken in ourselves a strong desire to get something, come to something, or someone else can similarly affect us. I believe that you need to use both “types of fuel”, you need to hurt yourself, and suffer for some time when it is necessary to rethink your life, and you need to interest yourself in order to have a good appetite for life. The most important thing is to be active and strive for something while we are alive. After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, then someone else will take care of us, but at the same time,

In general, if you think about it, it becomes clear that life itself constantly motivates us to be active. You can’t relax in it. Another thing is that you need to somehow react to this motivation before it becomes too strong and does not turn into a problem for a person, which can, so to speak, crush him with his weight and break it, as a result of which he will become even more passive and lethargic. So do not run, neither your problems, nor your desires, for both of these are what are called upon to motivate you to a real, dignified human life.

Meaning of life

Personally, as well as some of my clients with whom we worked on motivation, reasoning on the meaning of life helps me very well. They, this reasoning, are good because they allow a person, firstly, to understand his current life, his desires, goals, ideals, values, and secondly, allow him to look at it from the side to find something in it, what will determine its meaning. But think for yourself – what is our life? By universal standards, this is a tiny period of time during which we can do something, somehow influence this world, change something in it, create it in order to leave something after ourselves in it. This is a kind of chance for us to bring something to our world, which is a sin not to use. How, with this understanding, you can lead a mediocre lifestyle without taking an active part in it, without showing interest in anything, Not wanting to achieve anything, not wanting to change anything, I don’t even know. If a person comes to understand what his life means to him, I’m sure he won’t be able to roll on the couch, and he won’t be afraid to change something in his life. He will certainly use his chance and will try to do something important for him in order to live his life with dignity. So life itself, if understood, is a great motivation.

The meaning of motivation

But motivation itself also has its own meaning, and it must be understood in order not to do something for nothing. Motivation is not only a force and not only a desire to do something – it is also a person’s understanding of his desire, an understanding of the nature of the force that drives him. Why is a person motivated, what is the point in it, what is the point of doing something in life in general? Honestly, I don’t know. I have an opinion on this, which I will share with you in my other articles, but for now I’ll say that I feel that I need to do something, that a person must be active and purposeful in order to fulfill his mission on earth. I can’t know what mission is assigned to each specific person and to humanity as a whole, but I’m sure that it is. Therefore, as a person, one must live as a person, that is, lead an active lifestyle.

In my opinion, the meaning of motivation is for a person to reveal his abilities and the possibilities of this world. And in order to reveal his abilities, a person must live his life in which it is his desires, fully realized by him, that will become his guide. It makes no sense to be a copy of someone else or to translate other people’s dreams into reality, you need to live as you need and as you want – this is my opinion.

Of course, a smart reader will say that it’s difficult for a person to distinguish “his” from “not his”, because sometimes it is simply impossible to understand the nature of his desires, because every desire has a certain external recharge, unless it is about instincts that are independent of the external environment urge us to certain actions that we need to perform for self-preservation and self-realization. But instincts can also respond to external stimuli, they can be manipulated. This is so, but we need to strive to feel and, if possible, understand what benefits we can get if we motivate ourselves in a certain way, regardless of the extent to which this motivation will be associated with external or internal factors. Nature has laid down in us such needs that we need to satisfy in order to meet its goals [and at the same time its own], and our intellect is simply looking for an opportunity to do this in the best way for us. Therefore, knowing yourself, you can learn a lot about the nature of your desires, and at the same time about the nature of the desires of other people. After all, who knows what else, besides the already known to us, we can want, and what we are capable of for this. So sometimes it’s not so important what exactly motivates you, and it doesn’t matter what you or someone motivates you, you just need to understand how interesting and beneficial you are to what you want and what you are striving for.

And in order to fully know yourself, you again need to do something, something that you not only need to survive, but also what you are interested in. I again return to this positively colored and very important emotional process for a person. And I do this in order to show you its importance. I am sharing with you what I have experienced and are currently experiencing myself, and what I know the price of. And the price of interest, believe me, is very high. Many people are driven by fear, or even rather, it fetters them, preventing them from revealing their capabilities. And someone is overcome by laziness, because of which a person cannot feel the taste of life. And someone does only what he believes should do, taking an example from others and trying to be like them. I want your motivation to be based on interest, the same interest that you felt for everything, what surrounded you when you were little. Because it fills our life with meaning and causes a feeling of love for it. And experiencing love for life and for what you do in it, you will feel love for yourself as a person who really lives and enjoys life, no matter how it develops.