Motivation is crucial to your success. Without it, you won’t feel like doing anything.
There are 8 types of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and depending on what’s motivating you, it will be much harder for you to stay motivated.
There’s a reason behind everything you do. Something is driving you and this can both be positive or negative.
Your motivation affects your productivity, dedication, and commitment to your success.
The success of our efforts depends not so much on the efforts themselves, but rather on our motive for doing them
Denis Waitley
Let’s see the different factors that motivate people, so you know which ones apply to you.
The 2 categories of motivation
We’ll get to the different types of motivation soon. But first, it’s important to mention that they can be put into 2 main categories: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
This sounds a bit abstract but it simply means that you can be motivated by something inside of you, or by outside factors.
If you looove learning new things, this is intrinsic motivation. Learning inspires you and makes you feel good about yourself.
If you have to learn a new task at work because otherwise your boss will be upset and maybe even fire you, that’s extrinsic motivation.
So, within these 2 categories, we have 8 different types of motivation that impact how well you can keep your motivation up.
Extrinsic types of motivation
1. Fear-based Motivation
Let’s start with the easiest type of extrinsic motivation…and that’s fear-based.
We’ve all done things in our lives that we didn’t feel like doing just so that we could avoid pain or other negative consequences.
Maybe you didn’t want to get yelled at, avoid getting fired, or didn’t want to feel ashamed.
Fear is not a positive motivator but it can be very powerful. Hopefully, it’s not what motivates you most in your life.
2. Power Motivation
If you’re motivated by power, it means that you want to have control over your life and others. This doesn’t mean that you dream of being a dictator, but that you take your responsibilities, you love to be in charge, and you get things done.
You also want to be able to influence others so that you get what you want. This can be through manipulation and threats, but it can also simply be through your influence and great negotiation skills.
You want to live life on your terms and that what’s driving you.
The measure of a man is what he does with power.
Plato
3. Incentive Motivation
This one is also very easy to understand. It means that you do something because you want to get a reward. This can be money, status, a promotion, a relationship…
You pursue a goal because of the (potential) reward, not because you love the process. And that’s okay.
You can work towards a promotion because you want more money and a higher status.
You don’t have to do it just because you’d love to be more valuable to your boss (without any recognition whatsoever).
And the better the reward, the higher your motivation.
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4. Affiliation Motivation
This means you are driven by social relations. As humans, we are naturally wired to connect with others. This goes a step further, though.
You are motivated by the approval of others and their compliments on your attitude and co-operation.
The basis of social relationships is reciprocity: if you cooperate with others, others will cooperate with you.
Carroll Quigley
Intrinsic types of motivation
5. Creative Expression
What’s motivating you here is the need to express yourself. You have a strong desire to share what’s inspiring you. This can be through music, writing, art, or any other form of creativity.
It’s about getting out what you’re feeling inside. When it’s all about expressing yourself and sharing your gift, this is intrinsic motivation.
6. Comepetence Motivation
When you’re super curious and you just love to learn new things (or highly improve your skills in a certain area), this type of motivation is driving you.
Competence motivation is all about mastery and learning for the sake of it.
Honing your skills and expanding your knowledge give you great joy and pleasure.
Your goal is simply to learn. Not to be admired by others because you’re so smart (that would be extrinsic motivation)
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
Anthony J. D’Angelo
7. Achievement Motivation
If you’re driven by achievement motivation, you are typically self-motivated and process-oriented, meaning that you value the process of getting better more than some external reward.
You love having a vision and setting yourself goals that you will work on. The journey is exciting…and hitting (or even surpassing) your goals is highly rewarding in itself.
8. Attitude Motivation
This means that you are motivated by how you feel about life, how confident you are, and how much you believe in yourself.
How you feel is driving you. And this is especially helpful for goals that are associated with self-awareness and self-change.
The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change their future by merely changing their attitude.
Oprah Winfrey
What’s your type of motivation?
Let’s take one last look at the different types of motivation.
- Incentive motivation
- Fear motivation
- Power motivation
- Affiliation motivation
- Creative motivation
- Competence motivation
- Achievement motivation
- Attitude motivation
Each type can be motivating, but you can get the best results if you combine several of these. Also, if you only rely on extrinsic motivation, it can make it much harder for you to reach your goals.
Then you’re always dependent on other people and outside circumstances. And if you put in a lot of effort without getting the reward, your motivation may take a huge blow.
Intrinsic motivation typically lasts longer and improves your chances of success. If you do something for the reward while also enjoying the process, it’s less frustrating if you don’t get the reward.
For more tips & tricks to increase your motivation, I highly recommend you check out this personal development series! And visit this full dose of Monday quotes if you need more help with your motivation!
Enjoy your day and continue improving your life,
Improve yourself. Improve your life!
Don’t miss these posts that help with your motivation
- 28 Personal Development Activities to Ace Your Life
- 7 Motivation Hacks to Stay Excited About Your Goals
- 17 Key Benefits of Personal Development For Success
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