What Are the Factors of Motivation?

Many people wish they were more motivated towards the things they do every day. Here I will break down motivation so that you can see what makes some "overachievers" more driven to the things they do.

Personality- Some people were just born with motivation. Their biological chemistry makes them push themselves to the limits. Chances are if you are reading this, then you probably aren't one of those people. Since you can't really change your personality, let's look at the other two things.

Probability of Success- Whether you realize it or not, everyone judges the tasks they are faced with. When you need to do something you estimate how much you are sure you will succeed. Most of the time people do not challenge themselves is because they fear failure. Overcoming the fear of failure it called confidence. Have confidence in yourself and remember that even if you fail, everything will still be ok. If you want some tips on how to build your confidence, here is a post specifically on Building Confidence.

Incentive Value- This is just a fancy way of saying how much the reward is worth. If the reward or prize at the end of the work is not worth it then people won't even bother doing the work. This can be a hazy decision because sometimes the real reward can be far off and unclear. For example, children see no real reward for doing homework. The real reward is, after years of work, a degree and hopefully a good job. This may not seem worth it at the time. What you can do it give yourself little rewards along the way. Many diet programs allow you to have a snack once a week to give to something (besides losing weight) to look forward to so that you will stay motivated.