Self-Motivation - Definition and Practical Application

In life, we often find people performing the same task, but you can see one person doing it lazily while another does it seriously. This phenomenon occurs in various fields, whether professional, educational, or others. In most cases, the difference between these individuals lies in what is known as self-motivation.

Self-Motivation - Definition and Practical Application

In this article, we will talk about self-motivation, its meaning, types, and the steps to acquire this skill.

Definition of Self-Motivation:

Short story:

Ethan agreed to this enticing offer and promised his friend James that he would obtain his doctoral degree before the end of the three-year period.

At the end of the week, Ethan met with his fellow student named Oliver, who also held a master's degree in business administration and worked as a teaching assistant at a university.

Ethan informed his friend Oliver about the offer he had received, emphasizing that there was no time to waste due to the limited timeframe. He proposed to Oliver that they continue their studies together to both earn a doctoral degree in business administration.

Oliver told his friend Ethan that having a doctoral degree would be beneficial and would enhance their social standing.

After several hours of discussion and understanding, Ethan and Oliver agreed to dedicate an entire week to research universities where they could pursue their doctoral studies, including tuition costs and other relevant information. They planned to meet at the end of this week to review all this data and decide on a specific university for their studies.

Ethan returned home filled with anticipation for the end of the following week when he would determine the desired university and then begin his studies immediately.

During the agreed-upon week, Ethan did everything he could to gather information about potential universities, their costs, and other relevant details.

At the end of the week, Ethan and his friend Oliver met again, as per their agreement.

However, there was a surprise waiting for Ethan. Oliver had not collected any of the agreed-upon information.

It turned out that at the end of his last meeting with his friend Ethan and upon returning home, Oliver had completely forgotten about the matter.

 

The end of the story.

Types of self-motivation:

Indeed, from the previous story, it is evident that Ethan was very determined to obtain his doctoral degree, while his friend Oliver had lost interest in the idea shortly after their meeting.

Ethan experienced a strong self-motivation that accompanied him for an entire week, driving him to gather as much information as possible to help him determine the right university for him. On the other hand, his friend Oliver had a short-lived, weak motivation that ended after the meeting with his friend, and he lost interest later on.

Therefore, we can conclude from this story that there are two types of self-motivation:

1. Continuous.

2. Temporary.

Source of self-motivation:

To illustrate the concept of a "private goal", let's revisit the story of Ethan and his friend Oliver.

Ethan and Oliver had a general goal, which was to obtain a doctoral degree.

However, their private goals were different. Ethan had the opportunity to join a university teaching staff with a substantial salary and perks, and the condition for joining was obtaining a doctoral degree. The timeframe for this task was limited.

Therefore, Ethan's general goal was to obtain a doctoral degree, while his private goal was to secure a place on the teaching staff.

Therefore, if Ethan ever experiences any weakness or slackening during these three years, all he needs to do is remember his private goal. The private goal acts as a self-motivation booster to help him refocus and continue his mission.

As for Oliver, his general goal was to obtain a doctoral degree, while his private goal was to achieve a good social status. There was no specific timeframe for him to accomplish this goal, which made his private goal weak, and therefore, his self-motivation was also weak.

In general summary, self-motivation derives its strength from the specificity of a private goal, and there is a reciprocal relationship between self-motivation and the private goal. When the private goal is strong, self-motivation is strong, and vice versa.

Areas of self-motivation use, its importance, and benefits:

You can't confine the areas where self-motivation is used because anyone with a task to accomplish can benefit from having self-motivation to help them achieve their task to the best of their abilities.

If it's about accomplishing a task at work or in one's professional life, strong self-motivation can help accomplish that task to the best of one's abilities.

If it's related to education and studying, self-motivation will drive the student to strive for the highest grade and academic achievement.

If it's about anything other than work or education, we find that self-motivation is the fundamental skill required. Its importance lies in being the fuel that drives us to accomplish any task required of us.

Therefore, we observe that self-motivation can be harnessed in all aspects of life, and utilizing it effectively can lead to achieving the best results.

Steps to achieve strong self-motivation:

If faced with any task, whether it's in studying, work, or any other area, and we want to harness self-motivation to help us accomplish it, we do the following:

1. Identify the “private goal”.
2. If the private goal is strong, self-motivation will naturally be strong as well.
3. If the private goal is weak, we abandon this weak private goal and engage in brainstorming to search for a strong private goal. If we find a strong private goal, we use it immediately.
4.  If a strong private goal cannot be found, we employ the "self-deprivation" technique. This involves depriving oneself of something enjoyable, with the condition that it can only be obtained after completing the required task. Upon accomplishing the task, we allow ourselves to have that enjoyable thing as a reward.
5. If the "self-deprivation" method fails, we employ another technique known as "self-challenge". In this approach, a start and end period, whether in terms of time or a specific date, are determined. The challenge is to complete the task within this set period and not exceed it.
6. If the "self-challenge" method also fails, we resort to a final approach known as "external challenge". In this method, you remember someone you know who is capable of accomplishing the task, and you recognize that they have no additional advantages that make them superior to you. You tell yourself and address yourself by saying that this person does not possess any extra skills or resources that you don't have. Then, you set a specific time frame for yourself to complete the task and initiate a competition between you and the predetermined challenger.

This final point often succeeds, but it comes with a negative aspect, which is igniting some internal, unfavorable feelings towards others.

Is self-motivation a skill?

The natural sequence of self-motivation consists of three stages:

• The first stage is the establishment of a general goal, which arises as an immediate response to the occurrence of a certain reason.
• The second stage is when self-motivation emerges to help achieve the general goal.
• The third stage is the stage of nurturing self-motivation through the power of the private goal.

If we go back to the previous story, we will find that the idea of pursuing a Ph.D. with regard to Ethan was a reaction to the offer presented to him to join the faculty.

As for Oliver, the idea of pursuing a Ph.D. was a reaction to the enthusiasm of his friend Ethan to learn together and earn this degree.

Therefore, they now have a general goal, which is obtaining a Ph.D. This goal originated as a reaction, as previously mentioned. Based on this, they have taken the idea and are now actively working towards achieving it. To stay motivated in their pursuit of the general goal, self-motivation comes into play. Their current objective is to obtain a Ph.D., which requires physical, financial, and time-related efforts. These efforts may lead to moments of fatigue, weakness, or stagnation. This is where self-motivation plays a crucial role.

For self-motivation to become strong and continuous, it requires ongoing nourishment. The source of this nourishment is the power of the private goal.

Therefore, the answer to the question of whether self-motivation is a skill is that it becomes automatic when there is a strong private goal, making self-motivation strong and continuous without the need for any of the "steps to build strong self-motivation", except for the first two steps, as we have already achieved them by having a strong specific goal.

But self-motivation can become a skill in the absence of a strong specific goal. In this case, it requires us to go through the experience of the "steps to build strong self-motivation", and self-motivation in this context is considered a skill that demands some effort.

However, for clarification, when self-motivation shifts from being automatic to becoming a skill that requires effort, some may perceive it as challenging. People might ask:

Why is self-motivation difficult?

The answer here is that the difficulty arises when there is no strong private goal to fuel self-motivation.

As a quick example of this, suppose an employee had a long and exhausting day at work, and they were at home, lying on the couch, and even fell asleep due to tiredness. Then, their phone rang, and the caller said that there's a friend of this employee currently at the nearby airport and is requesting a ride.

So, what will his reaction be... surely everyone knows the bad reaction he will have.

But if he knew that the caller followed his words and said that his friend who is currently at the airport has received a substantial inheritance from his father and wants to give some of it as a gift to his friends, and the employee's share of this inheritance is $500,000, and that when he sees him, he will give it to him immediately.

So, what will his reaction be... surely, all of us will go with him to welcome his friend, even if we have to crawl.

Therefore, the strong private goal was enough to completely change our state, and we became highly self-motivated to go to our wonderful friend who is waiting for us at the airport.

Questions that may be asked about the topic of self-motivation:

- Is self-motivation a power?

- What causes self-motivation?

- How do I get self-motivation?

- Why do we lose self-motivation?

- How do we stay motivated to learn?

- How do we fix a lack of self-motivation?

- Is self-motivation a hard or soft skill?

- What is self-motivation at work?

- What motivates us in our professional lives?

- What motivates us in studying?

- What happens if we lack self-motivation?

- How can a student achieve self-motivation?

- Why is self-motivation important?

- What are the benefits of self-motivation?

- Can we teach self-motivation?

- Am I lazy or just not motivated?

- What is positive self-motivation?

 

Those who carefully read the article will find answers to all of these questions, even if not explicitly stated. Understanding the context can clarify all aspects.

In conclusion, self-motivation is an internal force capable of changing a person's overall state, providing them with the necessary drive to reach their goals. Self-motivation is an essential skill in our daily lives, and learning to harness it will benefit us in achieving the best results. To achieve the best possible results using self-motivation, all we need to do is find a strong private goal capable of fueling our self-motivation, which, in turn, will continuously energize us until we complete all our tasks.