What is motivation and why does it
work? That’s a good question and one I
will look at in this article. Motivation
is that little push or nudge you need to keep working toward a desired
end. Motivation works in many ways and
for nearly any situation. You can
motivate children, adults, employees, and you to reach set goals.
B.C. Forbes quotes, “History has
demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking
obstacles before they triumphed. They
won because they refused to be discouraged by their defeats.” I love that quote, it says to me that others
have traveled this road and obstacles are there for anyone. If you want to get to your final goal, you
must be strong enough to work your way around or over them.
Motivation is often based on
emotions. Motivation is important to all
of us because it is involved with all learned responses. Physical motivation can be hunger, thirst, or
anything else that deals with our bodies.
The motivation to walk faster in a driving rain is to get to someplace
dry as soon as possible.
The need to provide for our families is
the motivation many men and women have to go to work each day. The desire to send our children to colleges
motivates us to start that savings account and continue to add to it year by
year. Motivation, although often
unrecognized is what is the driving force behind all of our actions.
Why does motivation work? I think most everyone has a desire to be
recognized as a valuable human being. I
was a manager for a year, and I can honestly say that you get lots more out of
those who are working for you by positive reinforcement than negativity.
Setting little goals and achieving
those makes you feel good. With our
children, it may be for the treat that is dangling in front of them. Eventually, those goals look a little easier
if there is something else thrown in.
How hard have you worked to win a game at a shower knowing there was a
little gift involved? One of the tricks
of a successful home party salesperson is to be free with giving away little
goodies. Isn’t it funny how we are?
Motivation works well with
children. It helps get them past a
hurdle that may seem impossible to them.
With a little incentive to work for that can give them a little extra
push to reach that goal they’ve been working toward. Incentives to help children reach positive
goals could be money for A’s on their report card. A special outing if no disciplinary notes are
sent home for one week or that special video game they are wanting.
With weight loss, it’s amazing what a
little motivation will do. If there is a
special event planned for the near future that is an extra incentive to lose
weight. If you want to be a knockout at
your high school reunion, then that extra push will help you meet your
goal. Going on a cruise? That is a huge incentive to lose those love
handles. Spring is on its way and I want
to wear those same denim jeans I could wear last year. That will be a little difficult unless I drop
the 10 pounds I gained over the holidays!
Business uses motivational incentives
to increase business production and sales.
Sales work is especially an area where incentives are used to bolster
business. I know of someone who worked
hard to win his big screen TV. My
husband once won an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas. Incentives are offered to team members in
corporations to promote teamwork and a positive encouragement. Team unity creates happier employees, and
happier employees are more productive.
It’s a proven fact, if you like your job, you will be more
productive. A manager’s responsibility
is to help employees achieve their goals and goals are more fun to reach for
when there is an added incentive tacked on.
So why are motivational incentives so
important? I believe it’s in our human
nature to work for something extra.
Motivation will help us past the bumps in the road that stand between
our goals and success.