We can create a conducive environment which can be motivating. In order to inspire people to motivate themselves, we need to understand their needs and wants. There is a direct correlation between motivation and productivity.
People who do just enough to get by so they don't get fired will never be valuable to any organization.
Inspiration is changing thinking; motivation is changing action.
Motivation is like fire unless you keep adding fuel to it, it dies. Just like exercise and food don't last long, neither does motivation. However, if the source of motivation is belief in inner values, it becomes long--lasting.
· What is the greatest motivator?
· Is it money?
· Recognition?
· Improvement in our quality of life?
· Acceptance by those we love?
All these can be motivating forces.
Experience has shown that people will do a lot for money, more for a good leader, and do most for a belief. We see this happening every day all over the world. People will die for a belief. My objective is to share the fact that when we believe that we are responsible for our lives and our behavior, our outlook toward life changes for the better.
LET'S REDEFINE MOTIVATION
The next logical question is, what is motivation? Motivation is something that encourages action or feeling. To motivate means to encourage and inspire. Motivation can also mean to turn on or ignite the feeling or action.
Motivation is powerful. It can persuade, convince and propel you into action. In other words, motivation can be defined as motive for action. It is a force that can literally change your life.
Why do we need to get motivated?
Motivation is the driving force in our lives. It comes from a desire to succeed. Without success there is little pride in life; no enjoyment or excitement at work and at home. Often life becomes like a lopsided wheel giving a bumpy ride.
The greatest enemy of motivation is complacence. Complacence leads to frustration, and when people are frustrated they give up because they cannot identify what is important.
MOTIVATION--HOW DOES IT WORK?
Once you understand the principle that motivates the motivator, you can proceed to achieve your goal and can motivate others too. Your internal motivation is your drive and attitude. It is contagious. Attitude is the key to getting the response you want from others. How does a person stay motivated and focused? One important tool that has been used by athletes for a long time is called autosuggestion.
Auto suggestions are positive statements made in the present tense and repeated regularly. In other words it is positive self-talk.
Motivation is classified into two types: external and internal.
EXTERNAL MOTIVATION
External motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval, fame or fear.
Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting fired at work.
A company wanted to set up a pension plan. In order for the plan to be installed, it Needed 100% participation. Everyone signed up except John. The plan made sense and was in the best interest of everyone. John not signing was the only obstacle.
John's supervisor and other co-workers had tried to persuade him without success. The owner of the company called John into his office and said, "John, here is a pen and these are the papers for you to sign to enroll into the pension plan. If you don't enroll, you are fired this minute." John signed right away. The owner asked John why he hadn’t signed earlier. John replied, "No one explained the plan quite as clearly as you did."
Fear Motivation
The advantages of fear motivation are:
· It gets the job done quickly.
· It is instantaneous.
· It prevents loss, by meeting deadlines.
· In the short run the person's performance may improve.
Performance Goes Up It is not uncommon to see the prey outsmarting the predator, because one is running for its food and the other for its life. We learn from history that the pyramids were built by slaves. They had to be constantly watched and reprimanded for nonperformance. The disadvantages of fear motivation are:
· It is external, which means the motivation is there while the motivator is there. When the motivator goes, the motivation also goes.
· It causes stress. Performance is limited to compliance.
· In the long run, performance goes down. It destroys creativity.
· They get used to the stick and then need a bigger stick.
A customer asked an employee, "When did you start working here?" He replied, "Ever since they threatened to fire me."
Incentive Motivation
External motivation can also take the form of incentives, bonuses, commission, recognition, etc. What are the advantages of incentive motivation? The major advantage is that it can work very well as long as the incentive is strong enough. Think of a donkey with a carrot dangling in front and with a cart behind. Incentive motivation will only work if the donkey is hungry enough, the carrot is sweet enough and the load is light enough. From time to time, you have to let the donkey take a bite of the carrot; otherwise it is going to get discouraged. After the donkey takes a bite, its stomach is full, and you need to wait for the donkey to get hungry again before it will pull the cart. This is typically seen in our business environment. The moment salespeople meet their quota, they stop working.
This is because their motivation is limited to meeting their quota. That is external, not internal.
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