Motivation….the thing that guides our behaviour and in many cases energises us.
Experts will speak of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, but I’m not an expert so I won’t give a diatribe on these things except to give examples of each. An intrinsic motivator (comes from “inside”) may be the reward of the activity itself – like doing charity work. An extrinsic motivator (something external to oneself) could be money.
In my opinion in order to get an idea across (i.e. to “sell” an idea) you need to tap into what motivates the people you are trying to convince. Not a new concept. But I draw your attention to the subject of climate change. There are plenty of extremely passionate people FOR and AGAINST the notion of Climate Change.
Well I think most people engaged in this debate (FOR and AGAINST) are missing a golden opportunity to engage each other in a way that helps society figure out what really drives us.
We are all in this mess together. What motivates these extreme stances? Is it intrinsic, extrinsic or both? On the one hand you have people talking about CC affecting our very survival, on the other you have people promoting business as usual, both saying, “I am right, you are wrong!” I personally believe that both sides are scared – and being scared is one hell of a motivator. One camp thinks we will lose our world, the other think we will lose our way of life – we could lose both!
So my suggestion involves appealing to each camp’s motivation in order to overcome the impasse. The other BIG thing is to stop arguing over “positions” and to talk about win/wins but that’s a discussion for another day.
I have recently been in a situation that has again made me contemplate the question “what motivates us”? or probably, more selfishly, “what motivates me”?
“motivation”, as an area of expertise, falls into the science of psychology. I think anyone who starts to delve into the world of motivation will soon find themselves on a journey of discovery.
One of the more famous theories on motivation come from a man called Abraham Maslow in 1943. Maslow developed a theory called – The Hierarchy of Needs. A Google search on “hierarchy of needs” brings up about 290,000 hits, but it is not the be all and end all of motivation theory. Plenty of people have argued about Maslow’s flawed assumptions and data gathering methods – I’m not going into that, but there is no denying his theory certainly made many people think about the “how and why” people do what they do. Briefly, Maslow suggested that there were “levels” of needs and that in order to move to the next need level you must have in some way fulfilled the needs of a lower level. Maslow determined that there are FIVE levels in the hierarchy of needs and they are:
Physiological - the most basic needs vital for survival e.g water and food. Unless these needs are met then all other needs are secondary.
Security - security of employment, safe community, shelter for example.
Belongingness and Love - the need for companionship and acceptance.
Esteem - the need for a sense of worth and accomplishment.
Self-actualisation - this is the highest level where people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.
I believe that one of the keys to finding out what motivates oneself is to know oneself. I have always read Maslow’s hierarchy from the perspective of trying to find ways to motivate others, not myself. But what if I want to motivate myself? Reaching “self-actualisation” is going to be tricky if I don’t truly know what makes me tick. The things Maslow talks about at the higher levels in the hierarchy are mostly, intrinsic traits of an individual. I don’t know about you, but for me, knowing what those intrinsic things are is a difficult exercise.
Over the years I have had to undergo several psychometric tests for jobs I have applied for. One well-known “personality test” is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I have done this test a few times and the result has always been the same. It is interesting to read what you are “supposed” to be like.
So knowing what my Myers-Briggs personality is, it is then possible to uncover some things that motivate me. I value intelligence, knowledge, and competence, and have high standards which I continuously strive to fulfil. I focus energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. It is said that my personality constantly gathers information and makes associations about it and is tremendously insightful and usually very quick to understand new ideas. However, I’d rather apply a concept in a useful way than fully understand a concept. I am driven to come to conclusions about ideas. My need for closure and organization usually requires that I take some action.
My need for systems and organization, combined with my natural insightfulness, makes me an excellent scientist. My personality type is driven to translate ideas into plans or systems that are readily explainable, rather than to do a direct translation of their thoughts. However, my extreme respect of knowledge and intelligence motivates me to explain myself to another person if I feel they are deserving of the effort.
I am another step closer to finding the things that motivate me.