Define Motivation
Practical & Useful Definition Of Motivation

Define Motivation - Birds feeding at Protea Hotel Safari Lodge, Chisamba, Zambia.

Most dictionaries define motivation as "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way". It is also defined as "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something."

But we have to expand in this in order to make it more meaningful and useful for you to use in your journey to succeed and achieve your dreams. So follow below to see how you can use these defintiions in a more practical manner.

Practical Way To Define Motivation

In more practical terms, motivation is simply:
- The reason for an action
- That which gives purpose and direction to behaviour.

Motivation is “WHAT drives you” to behave in a certain way or to take a particular action. It is your WHY. So we can define motivation as simply what drives your behaviour or what fuels you to take certain action.

Motivation Is Your "Why"

Your WHY is the strong reason for you to desire something. It is not what you desire, but the strong reason you desire it. Let me give an example. If you want to stop working and go into business for yourself here are some possible explanations:

Your desire – to have your own business.
Your WHY – to be independent, to have more time for your family, to have more time to pursue your dreams.

So you see that your WHY often goes beyond the physical objectives themselves. Your why often satisfies a psychological need. That is important. If your reason for doing something is just material (e.g. to own a Mercedes or have a huge house), it is unlikely to see you through the difficult times to achieving your dreams.

Your WHY has to look beyond the physical. It has to be from deep within. That way when the going gets tough, your WHY will see you through it because it is a strong, burning reason. It is a reason that will stand strong in the face of opposition.

Now you have a working way to define motivation. Let’s take the next step.


If Your "Why" Is Big enough, The How Does Not Matter, At Least Initially

If your reason for wanting something is strong enough, even if at the time you don’t know how to achieve it, pursue it. It has often been said that when you desire something strongly enough the whole universe conspires to bring about the circumstances, people and resources you will need to achieve that purpose. Creating motivation is a lot easier if you know what you want to in the first place.

Step One – decide what you want

Never mind how you are going to get it – decide what you want. Be as clear as possible on what you want. There will be more on this in a later section on setting goals. Write it down.

Writing down what you want gets it from the abstract thoughts in your head to something concrete on paper. It is often said that writing something gives it a life of its own and makes it more real to you. It acts as a reference point that you can always refer to.

You must have a definition of motivation that is personal to you.

Step Two – Think about WHY you want it

Remember these have to be strong reasons. Write them down.

By carrying out these two steps you will have sorted out your personal definition of motivation. Your WHY is your personal definition of motivation.

These are simple steps but I guarantee you if you do them you are well on your way to achieving your dreams. This is where a lot of people get stuck. They just don’t know what they want. But not YOU. You know what you want and you are ready to work to achieve it. If you know what you want, you are already on your way to being a winner.

How to Create Motivation
Daily Motivation Tips

If you are still interested in the more complicated theories, I have included here Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s motivation theory.

Learn how to create smart goals to assist you in achieving what you want in life: http://www.smart-goals-guide.com/

See what others have said motivates them.