What motivates us to do stuff? Motivation has the power to shape our thoughts, actions and even our destiny. It drives the small yet significant actions necessary to reach personal goals and the larger commitments that lead to professional success. In the pages that follow, we use psychological science to uncover how human motivation works in the first place, and what we can do to help direct our motivational energy toward the things we value most.
At its highest, motivation is the sum of intrinsic and extrinsic forces that determine our actions Psychologists have developed two overarching categories of motivation, based on their origin: intrinsic (or ‘intrinsic’) motivation and extrinsic (or ‘extrinsic’) motivation. Intrinsic motivation stems from within a person, arising out of interest, out of values, or just because she enjoys the activity itself. In contrast, extrinsic motivation originates from the external world. It comes from rewards that exist outside the activity itself; the prototypical examples are money, fame, prizes and the like.
Although both forms of motivation can be powerfully motivating, research tends to support the idea that, especially for long-term engagement and wellbeing, intrinsic-motivation strategies are generally superior. People who are intrinsically motivated have a greater potential for feeling more autonomous, competent, and connected to a larger purpose, driving higher levels of engagement and more positive outcomes.
To grasp why motivation is so valuable, we need to examine the hidden forces that drive us. The first of these is goal setting. Goals offer a sense of direction and purpose to our actions, while their achievement motivates our pursuit of excellence, pushing through struggle and challenge. The effort of setting them and working toward them lights up the reward systems of our brain, thereby flooding it with neurotransmitters like dopamine that reinforce desired behaviour and continue to stimulate us during our pursuit of them.
In addition, the psychology of motivation is closely connected to what we believe about ourselves and our chances for success. The psychologist Albert Bandura coined the term ‘self-efficacy’, in reference to the belief that one possesses the competence to complete tasks and reach goals. People who have high perceptions of self-efficacy typically set more difficult goals and invest more energy and effort into realising these goals, and are more likely to persist in the face of barriers, obstacles — and even defeat — on the road to success.
The second fundamental element in the motivational psychology puzzle falls firmly in the realm of social behaviours and support networks: humans are highly social creatures and our activities are often a result of the influences and pressures — the implicit expectations and ‘shoulds’ — of our social environments. Encouragement and social support, coming from friends, families and professional networks, can reinforce our motivation, promoting a sense of accountability, esteem and belonging, which boosts our drive to perform.
Additionally, the psychology of motivation is perhaps more aligned with our feelings and innate drives. Emotion is thought to be a powerful motivating force behind behaviours, underpinning our choices, priorities and actions. Positive feelings, such as happiness, elation, enthusiasm and passion, seem to ignite motivation and energise the realization of goals, whereas adverse feelings, such as fear, anxiety or boredom, seem to stifle motivation and undermine attainment.
Overall, what we can conclude from the psychology of motivation is that it can demystify the most important determinants of human behaviour, those drive and will mechanisms that initiate and sustain all human enterprise, either individual or collective. Motivation is the energy source and the force behind any form of human perfection, and, when we understand the workings of this fundamental mechanism and are willing to commit to the serious practice of action and potential, we unlock human perfection and achieve our best, most effective and truly meaningful life. We become, to quote Maslow again, ‘what one is and nothing less’.
