By motivation we understand a set of principles or factors that influence one in the direction of acting for success. Apparently without motivation we’d all be conquered over by laziness and passivity. And indeed, ever since we came to understand the world around us, supposedly at a very young age, we have kept getting involved in a motivating existence. It all starts with the child being rewarded with a candy for listening to his/her mum. Therefore, without even becoming aware of what we undergo, we are taught the very basics of responding to motivation.

Motivation results from the reward that follows a certain action, and it is the pleasant feeling we experience that keeps us going on and on. The reward as such can be of an intrinsic nature, meaning that the mental and emotional satisfaction prove sufficient to repeat the action later. Yet, there is an external type of motivation too that consists in material or laudatory rewards. Consequently, motivation can fall into two distinct categories as intrinsic, or inner, and extrinsic, or outer. As it may be obvious to you already, intrinsic motivation has to do with your own person and what you want whereas the extrinsic type has to do with external factors or people. The intrinsic type of motivation is also divided into two more subcategories. On the one hand there is intrinsic motivation triggered by sheer personal pleasure like a hobby, and on the other there is intrinsic motivation caused by obligation which usually includes work tasks.

All in all, motivation surely defines the way we move through life. This is the factor that has made us take our first steps, that has supported us in learning how speak our native tongue correctly, that has guided us in school years and university studies perhaps, that finally sets in motion all the life areas from job and career pursuit to children and family providing. Motivation can take many forms and is found in many things.