Motivation is the key to achieving in life, it can be defined as the reasons for behaving or acting in any particular way and it is motivation that we need to move us forward in life and accomplish goals. In order to understand motivation, it is important to look at the types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic
Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from inside. It is essentially internal rewards that spur you on. An example could be curiosity and the joy of learning new things that motivate someone to complete further education. Or it could be self-fulfilment from working hard to earn a promotion. Let’s look at an example of a person that wants to start working out at the gym, if they feel gratified once they have completed their workout and are proud of their achievement this intrinsic motivation may encourage them to continue. Intrinsic motivation involves rewards that come from within ourselves and are often from deep-rooted desires which fit with our core beliefs and character traits.
Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation, in contrast, comes from external sources such as incentives and social expectations or recognition. For example, a person might be motivated to work hard in their career in order to gain credit or earn rewards. One of the most well known extrinsic motivators is money and many businesses now reward their staff with bonuses and incentive schemes in order to motivate their workforce to work hard. In an attempt to motivate employees, some businesses have now even introduced tipping to the workplace, where workers have a set budget and power to tip colleagues small amounts of money for good work (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48139518).
Employers often hire motivational speakers to speak at events and conferences in order to inspire their workforce. An effective speaker can stimulate and motivate an audience, which can be particularly helpful if the business or workforce are facing challenges such as restructuring or change. A motivational speaker such as https://www.adventureman.org/motivational-speaker/ can engage with an audience in order to empower them and leave them feeling inspired and energised.
Some people will respond more to intrinsic motivation, some to extrinsic motivation. It is important to understand that motivation is complex and often there is an interaction of motivational forces but defining and examining motivational factors will help attempts to increase overall motivation.