Sources of Motivation Paper Cara Dorrell PSY/355 5/8/2013 Jason Etchegaray Abstract To get out of bed early to work out and lose those pesky 5 lbs, or stay in bed and be lazy and say you will “do it tomorrow. ” Motivation is the one thing that can both drive our dreams and goals or hinder them all at the same time. The feeling you have of accomplishment is usually thanks to the motivation it took us to get from one point to the next. In this paper we will discover what helps that motivation and where that motivation comes from.
We have defined motivation as being the main desire to do things and will continue to look at motivation as a whole.Sources of motivation and the relationship between motivation and behavior will be addressed, as well as motivation in one’s behavior. Motivation Defined “Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. ”(Cherry, 2013, 1) Motivation is what moves one into action and makes them reach forward towards their goal they would like to achieve. It is the desire to do things and the reason that we do them. Sources of Motivation Motivation is fueled from many different sources and depends on the person and the goal that person is striving to accomplish.
These factors come from internal sources as well as external sources. Internal sources include biological and psychological and external sources would include goals and rewards or incentives upon accomplishment. Biologically we are wired to fuel our motivation from many different outlets. Anywhere from hunger to thirst or even sleepiness can drive and motivate us to do something that can dissolve those feelings. If a person is hungry they can experience hunger pains, lack of energy, growling of the stomach or even nausea and these factors are what will motivate someone to get up and make themselves a sandwich or something to eat.
Another example would be the feeling of thirst. If someone is sitting there with dry mouth or an itchy throat you are more than likely going to get yourself a glass of water. And that intent to get the water and drink it is what we know as motivation. Other internal sources would include psychological factors. People cope with feelings in so many different ways and usually motivation is behind their behavior.
For example a person may be going through a deep depression and their coping mechanism may be that they eat their feelings.The motivation to eat in reaction to depression is a psychological factor. Some external sources of motivation would include incentives or goals we attain from motives of our behavior. If a person has a dream of becoming an Italian restaurant owner they are going to be motivated to do everything in their power to make it the best it can be.
They will start off and continue to push forward to make the best recipes and when they get feedback from customers that weren’t the greatest that will motivate them even more to become even better and reach their goal to be the best.It is the light at the end of the tunnel or the medal at the end of the race that is external and keeps someone moving in a forward and positive way. Relationship Between Motivation and Behavior Motivation and behavior go hand in hand and resemble each other tremendously. When motivated in a positive way a person’s behavior is going to be in a positive light because they are moving forward towards their goal. Behavior is initiated when action is needed to be put in to play to achieve a goal. It is the movement to the thought process, the vehicle to the directions and the acting to the script.
Motivation is so easy to see in our behavior and it exhibits so much of someone’s actions. Emotion helps play a part in this behavior as well because emotions are in so much control of a person’s behavior or actions. If a man is a hard worker and continues to behave as employee of the month, it is most likely due to his motivation to move up the ladder and in turn eventually make more money with his company. Or is a woman is creating habitual behavior every month trying to become pregnant, this is all in motivation to start a family in this world.
ConclusionMotivation is a word used every day in a person’s vocabulary and plays a huge role on where they are in their life. Whether positive or negative motivation will be very visible in an individual’s behavior and drive towards a specific goal. Motivation is one of a few reasons we accomplish goals in our lives and it is motivation that carries us through. Even if we are broken down and we think we can’t go on it’s that little spark of motivation that ignites us and pushed us to succeed. References Cherry, K.
(2013). What Is Motivation?. About. comPsychology, (), . Retrieved from http://psychology.
about. com/od/mindex/g/motivation-definition. htm
