Is It An External Agent Or Can Motivation Only Come From Within?
What motivates you to work? Is it the result of an external agent such as your boss or a class you are taking or is motivation something that only comes from within? Some people believe that outside forces motivate them, but others believe it can only come from within. They argue that we make our own decisions and therefore cannot be motivated by anything else. To answer this question, I will discuss the different arguments for each perspective on motivation.
Arguments For External Motivation:
- From an outside perspective, one can see how other people may think we are motivated by pressure to succeed in school or to perform well at work. To some extent this is true. If we receive good grades or a promotion at work, we will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. However, this sense of excitement and pride depends on the person, since some people may be more self-conscious than others and thus more worried about what other people think of them.
- Some external agents are more effective than others, such as a parent. When parents instill in their children the importance of doing well in school, they will do all they can to get good grades because they want to make their parents happy. Since our parents nurture us when we are young, we feel that it is very important to please them so that they continue taking care of us when we are older. However, the effectiveness of the parent decreases as the child gets older and no longer depends on their parent for money or food.
- External agents may also act as a motivator because we feel we have to live up to an expectation given by an external agent. For example, we may feel pressured to excel at school and to pursue a career because our parents expect us too. We know that if we do not excel in school or pursue a prestigious career, we will be disappointing our parents. However, if you do not care about disappointing your parents, then you are less likely to feel pressure from them.
Therefore arguments can be made that motivation can come from outside sources. However, this has to do with our self-image. If you do not care about making your parents proud, then it is unlikely that you will feel pressure from them to achieve success in school. However, if you feel as if you have to please your parents or if they control what makes you happy then they would be likely to influence your actions.
Arguments For Internal Motivation:
- Internal sources of motivation are more difficult to determine, since we cannot see how the mind works directly. There is no definitive way of achieving internal motivation based on a single person's feelings or thoughts alone so it is impossible to say whether such motivation comes from within or outside the person's self-image. We can only make assumptions based on how we think we would behave in a situation.
- Internal sources of motivation may also stem from an individual's personality as well as their goals that they strive to achieve, since every individual has their own unique characteristics. For example, some people may want to be rich while others want to live a comfortable life, which is different than simply being rich. Also, some people may want something such as fame or success and feel that if they do not get it then they will be unhappy with their lives. Therefore everyone has different internal motivations that are personally relevant to them.
- Internal motivations are also dependent upon how an individual feels about a certain situation. For example, if someone feels as if they do not want to work for a company anymore, then they may feel very bored and unmotivated because there is no longer a motivation to work at that job. On the other hand, if that person likes their job and has the resources to financially support themselves, then they may feel motivated because of the interest in what they are doing. Therefore there are many different ways that an internal source of motivation can vary from person to person.
Therefore arguments can be made that motivation can come from within ourselves, since it is based on our own feelings or wants. Whether or not someone is internally motivated, it is still unclear whether motivation can come from outside forces. However, some people may argue that motivation to excel at a career or in school may be based on a person's personality and what they want from life as well.
Thus, we can see how these two perspectives on motivation are the basis for countless debates. Some people argue that we make our own decisions and are thus internally motivated while others argue that we cannot function without pressure from outside forces such as our parents. The answer to this question may never be fully answered because it is dependent on each person's personal decision-making.
References:
http://www/effective-motivation.com/about_intermotive.php
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-what-motivation-trend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation_theory
http://www.thinkbuzanation.com/index.php?id=75
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Conclusion:
Motivation is a difficult concept to define and to measure. Motivation can originate both internally and externally, but it cannot be determined whether these two sources of motivation are effective. Although there are many different types of motivation, the two main sources for motivation are achievement and incentive. No matter what type of motivation is involved, each person is motivated by the desire for self-improvement and the desire to achieve their goals. It has not been proven whether or not people pursue certain goals because of internal or external influences but it is evident that people strive to achieve their goals regardless of who motivates them.
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