What is motivation?
One key theorist (Professor Herzberg) believes that motivation occurs when people do something because they want to do it. Others think that motivation is the desire to achieve a result or it is the driving force which helps us to achieve a goal. Most business leaders, in business terms think of it as prompting staff to work hard. Fundamentally, all motivation comes from within. So the most common concepts of motivation are those of self motivation, internal motivation, or intrinsic motivation. All of these terms are used interchangeably to describe the same motivational factors that come from within a person.
Motivation through Challenges
Individuals are motivated when they are working towards personally meaningful goals. Attainment of those goals must require activity that is increasingly difficult, but attainable. In other words, people like to be challenged, but they must feel their goals are achievable to stay motivated. This can be accomplished by:
- Establishing goals that are personally meaningful
- Making those goals possible
- Providing feedback on performance
- Aligning goals with the individual's self esteem
Motivation through Competition
Individuals can also be motivated by competition. That's because we gain a certain amount of satisfaction by comparing our performance to that of others. This type of competition can occur naturally as well as artificially.
When using competition to foster motivation, keep in mind the following:
When using competition to foster motivation, keep in mind the following:
- Competition is more motivating to some than others
- Losing in a competition de-motivates more than winning motivates
- Competitive spirits can sometimes reduce the likelihood of being helpful to competitors
What makes a student feel motivated?
There are many reasons why a student might feel motivated. Some of the reasons include:
- Having a chance to be better at something.
- Getting a lot of praise from teachers.
- Achieving the grades they deserve or even better.