by Jennifer Lim

Created on: February 28, 2009

Motivation is defined as the intention of achieving a goal, leading to goal-directed behaviour. Motivation drives us towards achievement our goals, give us a reason to do things that is required to reach our goal. When we say we are motivated to do something, this motivation could come from people we meet or stories we hear. It could also arise from our present experience and our state of mind.

Motivation can comes in various forms; such as the motivation to be happy, motivation to be successful in your career and motivation to lose weight. Not doing anything about our life is also a motivation except it is a negative motivation.

There is no stronger motivation then self motivation. People can tell you all kinds of inspiring stories, advice and encouragement but if we have no desire to change, it can't motivate us. Self motivation requires us to look within ourselves to find the reason to drive us towards our goal. We accept and acknowledge what is lacking in our life and make it our goal to change ourselves. Self motivation requires a lot of perseverance and belief. In self motivation, we tell ourselves what we want to do; nobody and nothing can otherwise spur us to action. We are in charge of our actions and emotions.

I do believe that outside motivation can drive us towards achieving our goals. Sometimes, it is through outside motivation that made us think about our life and our achievements. You could be motivated after hearing a speech from an inspirational speaker or you might want to do something for the community when you heard a heart warming story. Outside motivation gives you hope and remind you that it is possible to be successful and be happy. Motivation could also come from a child or even the natural environment. Have you ever notice how spiders never give up spinning their web even after getting blown off by the wind many times. Outside motivation like this reminds us of life's possibilities, it gives us hope and it inspires us to move ahead.

Outside motivation could be the first step in helping us identify our goals. It gives us hope and sometimes provides us with the guidelines towards achieving our goals. However, as this is other people's experience, we might get side tracked or find it difficult to follow. Of course, we can be de motivated too by our own self motivation. However, as it comes from within us and we mastermind the process; self motivation is a stronger and more secure way to help us achieved our goals.

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