Motivation
Have you ever wondered about the wheel that drives our life, our actions? What is it "made of"?
Due to our personal reasons, we chose to do or not do certain things. Human actions are determined by internal and external causes and motivation is the one that represents the internal cause that leads to our behavior. Thus, motivation represents the psychical structure that orientates, sets off and energetically sustains our behavior.
Motivation is a structural ensemble of our motives. However, not every cause is a motive!
It is very hard to distinguish between motives, yet here is a list of the basic things that determine most of our actions and we face those most often: hunger and thirst, fear and entering the defensive mode, frustration, stress, conflicts, attachment, erotic motivation, self-accomplishment motivation and so on.
Let’s see a brief explanation on each of these motives as shown below:
Fear
When it comes to fear, we have two kinds of fear: temporary and permanent.
Temporary fear appears in certain situations and is normal and present in every person’s life. Permanent fear turns into a state of perpetual insecurity (anxiety), which can develop into a pathological state, neurotic fear. It can turn into inhibition (decrease in intellectual capability, even if attention and vigilance grow).
Stress
Stress can be caused by deadlines or tasks that we very well know we can not accomplish in due time. If not avoided as much as possible, putting ourselves in stressful situations can have devastating effects.
Frustration
Frustration is linked to the psychical state of one that has been deprived of a legit satisfaction or has been misled and been disappointed. The consequences are the rising on inner tension and a series of specific reactions. Generally, it is produced by the existence of certain obstacles, barriers. Individuals may have very different reactions depending on the existent barriers: eliminating the barrier, avoiding the barrier or searching for some compensation.
Conflicts
Conflicts appear when two tendencies of the same intensity are born simultaneously but become incompatible motivations that cannot be accomplished at the same time.
Attachment
Attachment is the ensemble of bonds between individuals.
Erotic motivation
Erotic motivation has biological as well as social bases. Man’s erotic conduit is very much influenced by society, by the conception existent about the role and interests of men and women. Erotic motivation is tightly glued to the feeling of love, a very complex feeling in our modern society.
Self accomplishment
Self accomplishment motivation manifests itself when an individual knows that his actions will be appreciated through a performance standard. It is an energizing factor, stimulated by the presence of other persons. This means permanently comparing yourself to others and sometimes desiring to dominate. This depends on the level of motivation, as well as the probability of success.
Success
Success depends a great deal on the motivation of an individual! Rewards motivate, praises motivate! We need to be appreciated in order to do a certain activity. Satisfaction appears only when we are content with the activity that we are conducting.
A non-motivated individual is a walking disaster. Most of us sleep our life away and it’s not always our fault. If there is nothing surrounding us that can motivate us then we have no interest whatsoever in taking up a certain activity. Let’s face it: we work so we can be appreciated for who we are and also for sustaining our physical existence. If the rewards fail to come, we are not motivated and consequently, we give up. Our mistake is that we often quit too soon out of fear of embarrassment, or laziness or well, there can be a million of other reasons!
It’s a tragedy to be one of the persons that are not motivated by anything. A fact that we know for certain-as all the cemeteries show- is that we’ve only got one chance to live here on Earth. Of course being born just to die, offers no motivation whatsoever if you look at it in perspective. I believe in life after death and that motivates me but this is another subject to seriously consider.
So, coming back on Earth, why not make the most of our human existence? Let’s be the ones that reward ourselves and in the process, guide and motivate other people so they can find their motivation and live a fruitful life.
They say ‘Winners never quit and quitters never win’ and throughout time, this saying has proved itself to be relevant in all situations. We were not meant to be quitters, but winners! We most certainly should start acting like it!
By Claudia Miclaus
Published: 4/18/2007
Affirming Optimism
Affirming Optimism
Self-Talking Your Way to Sunny-Side Thinking
Tips on how to self-talk your way into thinking more optimistically.
Affirming Optimism - Self-Talking Your Way to Sunny-Side Thinking
Optimism seems so natural to some people. They always seem to be looking on the sunny side of things rather than thinking of the negatives. No matter what happens to them, they never seem to get down on themselves like the rest of us might.
While some people are naturally good at being optimistic, others of us can become just as bright and cheerful with the right tools. Anyone, even the biggest pessimists, can become an optimist if they are willing to give it a shot. If you're truly pessimistic, you might be thinking, "Pssh, yeah right, like I could ever become optimistic." Well, what I'm going to tell you might come as a shock, but the key to becoming an optimist is to...
STOP THINKING LIKE THAT!
That's right folks, negative thoughts are what translate into pessimism. So, if thinking negatively can equate to pessimism...
Thinking positively can lead to optimism!
The trick is to catch yourself in the act of being pessimistic and change your thinking. This might not come easily, but it's very doable. One way we can train our brain to start thinking more positively is through affirmations.
Affirmations are positive phrases we say to ourselves. Phrases like, "I can become an optimist," for a relevant example, are affirmations. Here are a few more examples:
* No matter what happens, I can bounce back.
* I am a strong, competent person.
* I am beautiful.
* People love me.
* I do excellent work.
* I am successful.
* Everyone has setbacks and I can overcome them.
* If I work hard, I'll get good grades.
* I love myself.
Repeating phrases such as these to ourselves can actually have an impact. You'll find that if you practice affirming with optimistic, confident phrases, your brain will start building new neural pathways. These pathways will start to lend themselves towards positive, rather than negative, thoughts.
If you're a pessimist you're probably thinking, "That's a bunch of BS. It'll never help." Well, one of the first steps you can take towards becoming an optimist is to give it a shot. It can't hurt to try, and if you believe it's worth your time you'll find that it really does help!
If you're looking to come up with your own affirmations that are relevant to your situation, remember to focus on positive phrases. Rather than saying, "I will not procrastinate," instead try a positive phrase like, "I will complete my work in a timely manner."
Self affirmations are just one way of training your brain to becoming more optimistic. I have personally achieved great success with this method and I am now a more confident, optimistic person because of it. There are other ways, too, and there are a wealth of books available on the topic. Check your local library if you're truly determined to give up your pessimistic ways! Before you go, don't forget to say to yourself this phrase:
I am an optimist!
By Janna Seliger
Published: 12/2/2007
Self-Talking Your Way to Sunny-Side Thinking
Tips on how to self-talk your way into thinking more optimistically.
Affirming Optimism - Self-Talking Your Way to Sunny-Side Thinking
Optimism seems so natural to some people. They always seem to be looking on the sunny side of things rather than thinking of the negatives. No matter what happens to them, they never seem to get down on themselves like the rest of us might.
While some people are naturally good at being optimistic, others of us can become just as bright and cheerful with the right tools. Anyone, even the biggest pessimists, can become an optimist if they are willing to give it a shot. If you're truly pessimistic, you might be thinking, "Pssh, yeah right, like I could ever become optimistic." Well, what I'm going to tell you might come as a shock, but the key to becoming an optimist is to...
STOP THINKING LIKE THAT!
That's right folks, negative thoughts are what translate into pessimism. So, if thinking negatively can equate to pessimism...
Thinking positively can lead to optimism!
The trick is to catch yourself in the act of being pessimistic and change your thinking. This might not come easily, but it's very doable. One way we can train our brain to start thinking more positively is through affirmations.
Affirmations are positive phrases we say to ourselves. Phrases like, "I can become an optimist," for a relevant example, are affirmations. Here are a few more examples:
* No matter what happens, I can bounce back.
* I am a strong, competent person.
* I am beautiful.
* People love me.
* I do excellent work.
* I am successful.
* Everyone has setbacks and I can overcome them.
* If I work hard, I'll get good grades.
* I love myself.
Repeating phrases such as these to ourselves can actually have an impact. You'll find that if you practice affirming with optimistic, confident phrases, your brain will start building new neural pathways. These pathways will start to lend themselves towards positive, rather than negative, thoughts.
If you're a pessimist you're probably thinking, "That's a bunch of BS. It'll never help." Well, one of the first steps you can take towards becoming an optimist is to give it a shot. It can't hurt to try, and if you believe it's worth your time you'll find that it really does help!
If you're looking to come up with your own affirmations that are relevant to your situation, remember to focus on positive phrases. Rather than saying, "I will not procrastinate," instead try a positive phrase like, "I will complete my work in a timely manner."
Self affirmations are just one way of training your brain to becoming more optimistic. I have personally achieved great success with this method and I am now a more confident, optimistic person because of it. There are other ways, too, and there are a wealth of books available on the topic. Check your local library if you're truly determined to give up your pessimistic ways! Before you go, don't forget to say to yourself this phrase:
I am an optimist!
By Janna Seliger
Published: 12/2/2007
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