Motivation is an essential part of our life; it is what causes us to act and we use it subconsciously everyday. But some cays, we just don’t have that desire to do things, even if we know that eventually it can have a lot of devastating effects on your well-being - in the end, it’s all stress! Everyone knows that an overdose of any hormone is bad for anyone. Luckily, there is a way to get rid of the icky empty feeling when you lack motivating, and it’s understanding what motivation is.

Motivation is the process which guides, initiates and maintains a certain behaviour that helps us achieve our goal. This process involves our emotional, social, biological, and cognitive forces within us in order to active the particular behaviour and cause an action. 

The three components within motivation are: activation (the decision of acting); persistence (the length you’ll act for); and intensity (the amount of effort you put into completing your goal). We often stop during the persistence component and fail to put in more effort to complete the action.

To be productive and focus on what you want to achieve, you need to understand that there are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation is when an individual completes something based on external factors. This could be wanting to win a trophy or needing to write a report or you’ll be fired. You’re completing an action in order to get a physical reward.

Intrinsic motivation is the opposite; an individual is motivated to complete an action based on internal factors. This could be solving a difficult issue because you’ll feel more confident and proud of yourself afterwards. 

Studies show that intrinsic motivation is more rewarding and beneficial than extrinsic motivation: would you prefer someone wanting you to do something (extrinsic), or wanting to do it yourself (intrinsic)? Anyone would prefer doing it at their own accord.

The problem is that not every task that needs to be done can be intrinsic. A good balance of both is ideal. For example, competitiveness is an extrinsic factor that has the highest correlation with academic performances, and self-determination is an intrinsic motivation. In order for you to be competitive, you need self-determination to complete the task. A combination of both is most productive. 

So what can you do?
Motivation comes within an individual, but it can be influenced by environmental factors. Costive competition and being in a fun atmosphere motivates individuals, giving them a sense of responsibility and in addition is also helpful. Rewards and praises are suggested. But most importantly, be enthusiastic and motivated yourself, you can influence others to feel the same way.