Sometimes, working on anything in life can be difficult. Initially, you have short bursts of motivation, but that eventually wears off, and you become lax.
When people struggle with motivation, I tell them this: you can’t just concentrate on motivation. The best way to stay motivated depends on your motivation style. A key to perpetual motivation is knowing what motivates you.
Knowing Your Motivating Styles Is Important
Here’s how these styles work, but first, why is it so crucial to know your motivational style? Some reasons and benefits of this practice are as follows:
Changing our behavior – Your mindset will change based on the motivation you’re using. Another type of motivation may give you meaning and boost your motivation long-term.
Feelings of satisfaction – You’ll be motivated by your motivational style to be setting the goals that matter most to you. As a result, you are inspired to accomplish the goals you care about most.
Becomes more interesting to you – You won’t spend time on it if you have no motivation. Good motivation means focusing on something that helps you develop an interest in the topic.
Identify and develop your best traits – When you are motivated to achieve your goals, you develop qualities. You can apply these traits elsewhere as well, even when not dealing with that specific situation.
You gain a greater sense of self-awareness when you know your motivation styles. By identifying problems and persisting, you will be able to overcome them.
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Before diving into the specific styles of motivation, let’s look at the two types of motivation that are essential to understand: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. When you know both of these motivations, you’ll have a better idea of when and how to utilize them.
Extrinsic motivation, also known as external motivation, is the motivation that comes from outside of you. YouTube videos, motivational speakers, posters, or articles that inspire you are examples. Anything external that affects your motivation is extrinsic.
It is the opposite of intrinsic motivation. This is internal motivation, and it is considered the best motivation since it comes from within. A prime example of internal motivation is having a specific attitude towards your goals.
Regardless of which one is better, both of these motivations are crucial. While they are not without their shortcomings, these types of motivation can be effective in certain situations.
The 8 Motivation Styles
Those two types of motivation lead to the motivation styles I’ve been discussing.
Intrinsic Motivation
Physiological
We are unable to explain how this motivational style works. Motivating ourselves in this way is fundamental, and we can’t ignore it no matter how hard we try. You’ll likely find this type of motivation when you’re covering your basic needs.
The hierarchy of needs theory explains this and is a good example of this motivation at work. The theory says that we are all motivated by our basic needs such as shelter and food and higher levels of psychological fulfillment. From the beginning, we all have this type of motivation.
Achievement
A task or a goal itself motivates this type of motivation. Motivation doesn’t always have to come from a reward. As you progress through the steps and make progress, you find inspiration through the process, and you gain self-motivation.
Losing weight is an example of this. An achievement-driven person takes pleasure in seeing their weight drop after stepping on the scales. The initial weight loss is inspiring, even if they aren’t quite at their target weight yet.
Attitude
Attitude motivation is another form of intrinsic motivation. Motivating yourself by trying to change the way you think and feel is what cultivates it. Encouraged in this manner, people who excel at this engage in actions and interactions to empower those around them, providing words and actions that make them feel better or encourage them.
Motivational speakers are an example of this. Others around them are motivated only by external factors. Motivational speakers get on stage to provide motivational content, shoot videos, and inspire others.
Competence and Learning
A motivation that focuses mainly on the process rather than reward, also known as learning motivation. Consider it as achievement motivation, but they are more concerned with the process and learning.
Motivating yourself by improving and making progress towards a goal or task is all about getting better. Even though you are going there, it is not the primary reason behind your actions.
One of the most useful intrinsic motivation styles is this one. Whenever you work toward a particular goal or task, you’ll experience this kind of motivation. Making progress will bolster you. Losing a couple of pounds in this way is like losing weight. A school paper or a report that is half done is another example.
Extrinsic Motivation
Incentive
Among extrinsic motivations, incentive motivation is probably the most well-known. Essentially, this means you find motivation in the process or completion of the task rather than the results.
Participating in a marathon with the intention of winning is a good illustration of this. To have a better chance of winning, you will train hard every day. Another example is studying for a test to achieve the highest grade.
Fear
To find motivation, you must drive yourself into fear or an uncomfortable position. This nature of influence implies that it will be a negative influence, but one that is quite effective. If you are worried about paying your bills, you will work overtime to prevent this from happening to you. You may be motivated to push ahead by the fear of not being able to pay.
Alternatively, you can make it positive. Let’s say your family has a history of heart problems. The benefits of working out regularly and being in good health can be attributed to this fact.
Power
It is the desire for personal control and authority over others that motivates those motivated by power. When you’re given more options to pick from, you’ll find this motivation manifesting in your life.
Giving you the option of what kind of school or career you want is an example of motivation. Motivating yourself in this way makes you think about what you do and how you do it, and it gives you the ability to manifest the life you want.
Affiliation and Social
The last motivation style is affiliation and social motivation. We are innately motivated by this kind of motivation as it derives from our desire for social connection and contribution.
Further diving into this, you will discover that motivation stems from a desire to belong to a particular group and to be accepted.
