Motivation + Actions + Goals = Accomplishment

I BEElieve in you (Tanya Radic)

…Please promise to believe in yourself too!

MOTIVATION, a simple word yet so profound, in all aspects of life. Why? The question may sound somewhat simple, but can motivation be regarded simple taking into consideration how much effort, time, and value is being invested into analyzing, researching, living, educating, coaching, teaching, and mastering motivation?

Perhaps only one thing exceeds the importance of motivation, and that is GOAL, but working towards, and reaching a goal, requires for us  to be motivated. Motivation is the foundation for all action, and motivation together with action will lead us towards reaching a goal.

MOTIVATION + ACTIONS + GOAL = ACCOMPLISHMENT

 

The perhaps best-known, and most cited researcher in the field of motivational theory is Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist and professor who believed in focusing on the positive qualities in people, and who studied self-actualization together with human potential. Maslow´s hierarchy of human needs as a valid framework remains widely used among a wide variety of practitioners within sociology, management/leadership development, psychology, coaching, education, and training.

 

Maslow´s hierarchy of needs aligned with aspiration management is based upon the thought that when the basic (physiological, safety and security) of a human being are fulfilled, the individual has the capability, and energy, to focus upon fulfilling his/her social needs including love/belonging, esteem, and at the top of the pyramid, self-actualization. Hence, once the basic needs together with the following social needs have been fulfilled, an individual can focus upon accomplishment. 

Assumed that an individual (YOU?) leads a life where his/her basic and social needs are fulfilled, he/she is ready to aim for self-actualization and accomplishment. This, in turn, requires the ability of setting a goal/several goals, and finding the motivation that enables actions in reaching the goal/s. Actions in plural because reaching a goal usually takes more than one action, of course depending upon the size of the goal. The higher/more complex the goal, the more actions will it demand.

MOTIVATION + ACTIONS = GOAL

Motivation, further on, can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation starts from within an individual, while extrinsic motivation usually comes from outside the individual. The question is, whether all intrinsic motivation is based upon external factors? Nevertheless, there are many ways of getting motivated:

1. Clarify your goal
2. Reflect upon the purpose of your goal
3. Divide your goal into smaller steps/partial goals (the higher/more demanding the goal, the more important it is to divide it into a number of smaller goals)
4. Consciously raise your performance pressure
5. Visualize reaching your goal on a regular basis
6. Use motivation as a tool of self-suggestion (positive affirmations/mantras)
7. Rationalize your schedule
8. Define a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly schedule
9. Commit to your goal(s) on a social level
10. Set up a reward (and punishment) system for yourself
11. Make enough time and space (enable conditions) for reaching your goal(s)
12. Remove obstacles and conflicts that may stand in the way for your motivation
13. Consciously change your attitude
14. Use inspirational mental models/find role models/mentors

(List Source: Kauppila 2003. Opi ja opeta tehokkaasti. Psyykkinen valmennus oppimisen tukena = translation: Teach and Learn Efficiently. Psychological Coaching as a Support in Learning).

In following video, “The psychology of self-motivation”, Scott Geller speaks about self-motivation and how to free yourself from restrictions, enabling you to set your personal goals, and receive support from people around you. Enjoy watching and listening to a perspective about intrinsic (self-) motivation.

 

The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others (St. John Chrysostom)

If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years to live (Albert Einstein)

Thank you for reading, commenting, and learning. Most of all, thank you for valuing and respecting all life upon Earth, and making it your priority to become motivated, take actions, reach goals, and accomplish things that are of value, and that help other humans, nature, and all life (including animals) enabling us to continue thriving on Planet Earth.