500+ Words Essay on Motivation
Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. – Roy T. Bennett
Let’s say that your father promises to buy you a new laptop if you score 90 percent or above in your final term exams. What is he trying to do? He is giving you an incentive to study more. He is motivating you to put in more hours of effort into studying.
Motivation is a state of mind in which one’s energy is guided towards a particular goal. You are determined to perform in a specific manner to generate good results and get the end reward. Motivation in life is as essential as hope. You need to stay motivated to achieve your dreams and aspirations.
Numerous things motivate us as human beings. Encouragement from our peers and our families makes us feel more confident and surer about the path that we are pursuing. It fills us with self-belief and a stronger will. We are motivated by the rewards that await us at the end. They may be monetary and even non-monetary comprising of inner satisfaction and recognition.
We also continuously look for opportunities around us. We thrive on proving ourselves and are motivated at the thought of taking up challenges on a day to day basis. Competition is also a great motivator. It may be with the top performers in the class or even between companies to get the highest market share. Making an impact and driving a change also plays a role in this.
Types of Motivation
There are broadly two types of motivation-:
Intrinsic Motivation: This type of motivation comes from within. For example, Riya wants to reduce her weight to fit in a beautiful dress that she purchased two years ago. This goal of hers will motivate her internally to slim down. Intrinsic motivation is guided by interest, sense of achievement and curiosity of a person. It gives them a purpose and acts as a drive to achieve that purpose. This type of motivation is personally rewarding.
Extrinsic Motivation: Human behaviour in this type of motivation is guided by external rewards such as money, praise, promotion, recognition, grades, etc. For example, Paul, a sales agent, wants to earn a little more this month and hence he is motivated to sell more than what his target is. A student might study more and perform well in exams because he or she wants praise and appreciation from his or her teachers and parents. This type of motivation is always guided by what others give us.
Benefits of Being Motivated
In organisations, if you have a motivated workforce, then you can save on a lot of extra costs. If the employees are motivated internally because of a friendly work environment, transparency and other factors, then they tend to learn more themselves and hence, your training costs are reduced.
The absenteeism and employee turnover are low, and they become assets of your company. There is also a reduction in wastage and increased productivity leading to improvement in quality and performance. Being motivated makes you happy, content and helps you achieve your motives and succeed.
In different stages of life, we have different motivations. In our childhood, getting good grades and performing well in extracurriculars is the motivating factor. When we’re young adults, establishing a good career and finding companionship is what motivates us. As we grow older, our motivation arises by finding meaning and integrity in life.
Theories of Motivation
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
According to Maslow, there is a hierarchy of five needs that motivate each person. When the first need is met, then the person is motivated to fulfil the next need in line and so on. The first is physiological needs. It is the need for necessities such as food, water and shelter. After that comes safety needs which can include having a stable job and financial security.
Then arises social obligations or the need for affiliation in which a person is interested in socialising with others, interacting with peers and building relations with the. After this come the esteem needs. They include having self-respect, knowledge and a sense of achievement. Last is the self-actualisation needs which have the purpose of making a person attain or realise fulfilment.
McGregor’s Theory
According to McGregor, there are two ways of human participation in work. First is the contrary direction, Theory X. Under this theory, people are considered to be dull, gullible and not very bright. They want to avoid work as much as possible and like to be directed by others. They lack creativity and imagination and are self-centred.
On the contrary, theory Y tells that people like to take responsibility and have a sense of achievement. They want to see their organisation succeed and put in their best efforts themselves. Both of these theories are in contrast with each other and present a different side of the workforce altogether.
Punishment is something that is given to an individual to stop him or her from doing or indulging themselves in undesirable behaviour. It is provided after a certain behaviour takes place, and it aims to prevent it from happening again. Even the fear of punishment acts as a motivating tool.
If you fear that a low grade in maths would lead to your parents grounding you at home for a month, then you work to get good marks from the fear of getting grounded. If you feel that showing laziness on your job will hinder your performance resulting in you not getting a promotion, then you work harder towards the goal of getting one.
Motivation keeps us all going and is extremely important. It is what gets us through the day. It increases our resourcefulness. It is the one factor that doesn’t let us quit no matter what obstacle arises and stands in front of us. Motivation can lead to us achieving success and satisfaction. All you need to do is believe in yourself.
Leave a Reply