I and a few of my colleagues in fitness have been mulling
this over for a few days now. I have to
say, it is a subject close to my heart.
Not only have I been thinking about it in terms of my fitness, but also,
I have had issues with it in my home.
What is motivation and why do some seem to have it, and some not?
Motivation is defined as the internal drive or inspiration
to pursue a task with the goal of a desired outcome. I like that.
It is a pretty clean definition.
I have watched many people over the course of my life
attempt tasks with the hope of achieving an outcome. I spent many an hour on a sports field. I have competed in classroom settings for
grades. I have been through some pretty
rigorous training programs in the military which many dropped out of. I have seen it in my dieting and fitness as
well. We all have seen the same
behavior. Some are driven to succeed and
some are not. It is that drive that will
typically determine the outcome. The
more drive, the higher the chance of success.
In my perception of motivation, there are two factors that affect
the amount a person demonstrates. The
first is the difficulty of the task. Can
it be done and with how much effort? The
second is the value of the reward. How
much does the person want it? Those two
factors, if plotted on a graph, are a pretty good indicator of the level of
motivation you may find in the person doing the task. Lots of effort and dismal rewards equals
little motivation.
There are other things that affect it as well.
How closely is the task related to the reward? For example, is the motive to study being
linked to a desire for better grades or is the person studying because they
were promised a different reward that they may have wanted more?...like a new
prom dress.
Are there other reward paths to get the same result? Is it worth it to diet and exercise for a
year if liposuction and stomach stapling can do the job in three months?
Lastly, are there substitutes for the reward itself? If the reward is not achieved, is something
just as good more easily attained?
All of these things affect the level of a person’s
motivation. I have watched people just
rationalize the goal away if the path looks too hard or if they are willing to
settle for less.
As I have watched various people over the years, I have come
to a conclusion on motivation. While
many things affect the level, there is a base level of motivation that every
person possesses. It is cultivated as the
person went from childhood to the teen years.
Either the child was put in a position to compete at a young age, or
not. If they were, and there was any
degree of feedback from doing well in competition, the seeds of motivation were
sowed. When a child is put into a
competitive or performing setting and they do well, the feedback is the food
that drives future motivation. If they
are not, they always have a very small base of motivation. That’s my theory from studying people with
high motivation. That aspect of their
life is usually seen in every area they participate in. They are looking for the feedback high.
I think you can elevate even the most low of motivation
levels. But you can’t get the person
over the hurdles unless the base level is large enough. There are people who will, unfortunately,
never be motivation material.
That’s my opinion and I will stick with it. Prove me wrong. What do you have to lose?
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