personal development and motivation

Everybody these days use the term “self motivation“. However, what is self motivation?

How do you define self motivation? What does self motivation mean?

In this post, I will give a self motivation definition and I will explain what is self motivation. After reading this post you will be able to define self motivation the best way you can.

First, let us understand what motivation is in general.

The definition of motivation (mo·ti·va·tionˌmōdəˈvāSH(ə)n/noun)) by the business dictionary:” Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.

Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class.”

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/motivation.html;

The oxford dictionary defines motivation as:

• A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.‘escape can be a strong motivation for travel’
• Desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm.‘keep staff up to date and maintain interest and motivation’

So what is self motivation definition by the business directory?

“Ability to do what needs to be done, without influence from other people or situations. People with self motivation can find a reason and strength to complete a task, even when challenging, without giving up or needing another to encourage them.”

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/self-motivation.html”

how does my definition of self motivation differ from the above?

I agree with this definition but only to a point. The part the self motivation definition that needs revising, in my opinion, is the part that concerns others. In my opinion, self motivation can and does get influenced by others.  We are not an island and the relationships that we have with others help us to defines ourselves. Sometimes the interaction with others gives us the drive to motivate ourselves to do something.

However, the effect is not always linear and sometimes works in the opposite direction. For example: if I had a teacher in high school that put me down and disrespect my ability, it could drive me to motivate myself into becoming a successful person just “to show him off…”

Another example is when someone truly believes in me. When someone else gives me the notion that he accepts me as I am and sure of my abilities, I will motivate myself to succeed to make him proud of me.

In those examples, it is still self motivation. I am still the one that motivates myself day in and day out, but others influenced me to do it.

what is self motivation – final words

When I was a little boy I was considered “lazy”. I had great potential but I was a bad pupil. never did my homework and never studied for exams. What my teachers and parent didn’t get is: I wasn’t lazy, I just didn’t have the right kind of motivation. My teachers didn’t know how to motivate me the right way and I was too young to learn how to motivate myself.

I think that the dictionary definition of self motivation is something for the scholars and academic world, we the regular people need to understand the essence of it. Our self-drive instinct was used in the past for survival. These days the survival is much easier and we should learn to motivate ourselves to do things that are not so trivial.

When we set up a long-term goal we discover the true meaning of self motivation. It is easy to stay motivated for a short period, but to stay self motivated over months or years require a really strong character. The ability to stay motivated is a key skill for success.

Many people stay motivated because of external incentives like the fear to be fired from a job or the l need to do something. But when it is not an emergency, it is much more difficult to stay motivated and finish the tasks ahead.

The skill of self-motivation is the skill that separates the winner from the losers, and if you want to be a winner you should know exactly what is self-motivation!.

When you have the self motivation you can find a cause and inner power to finish a task, even when it is difficult, without giving up or needing the encouragement of others.

On a final note, I would like to share a nice poem by Lynn Grace, I found on https://hellopoetry.com/words/339411/self-motivation/poems/:

“They say wisdom comes with age, but I believe wisdom comes to those who seek it