How to motivate yourself for something?

This question is often asked by people in the hope of finally starting to go to their goal faithfully and persistently. But, unfortunately, there is no universal answer to this question. There is no such motivation advice that would be suitable for every person. However, throughout the history of the existence of this concept, many well-known theories have developed that have been tested by time and are used in various spheres of life to this day. Everyone chooses for himself which method is suitable specifically for him.

There are the following five main approaches to motivation.

Motivation is the needs that are the same for all people.
This was the opinion of Maslow, whose famous pyramid of needs is known all over the world. According to her, a person has five main needs: 1 — physiological, 2 — the need for security, 3 — for socialization, 4 — for respect and 5 — for self-expression.

Moreover, they all go in strict order. That is, let’s say that until a person feels safe, the need for socialization does not have priority for him.

Therefore, taking Maslow’s theory as a basis, in order to motivate yourself to achieve a result, you first need to determine which of these five needs your goal belongs to, then take care of the previous steps of the pyramid and meet the needs for them, and only then take up your main task.

Motivation is a need that is different for all people. The author of this theory is David McClelland. In his opinion, there are three needs that influence human actions: the need for achievement — independence and responsibility for one’s choice; the need for complicity — the desire to be part of a group; and the need for power.

To use this technique, first you need to conduct self-analysis and understand yourself. Identify which of these three needs you feel more often than the others. For example, why do you work out at the gym? To get an award (achievement), to join a group of athletes (complicity) or to become stronger and more attractive (power)?

Once you understand which need prevails in you, apply it to achieve your other goals.

Motivation is about expectations.
The creator of this approach is psychologist Viktor Vroom. He believed that people’s motivation depended on their expectations. In particular, he highlighted three questions that a person mentally asks himself before starting to do something: is the result achievable; will I get a reward for it; will the reward be valuable? If a person answers all these questions positively, then he will begin to act.

This theory is quite popular even now, because it provides convenient criteria — the goal must be realistically achievable and must eventually give a result that will be really valuable to a person.

To apply this technique in practice, you need to select a goal and evaluate it according to all the above criteria.

• Are you sure that you are able to achieve the goal? How will you do it? Do you know all the pitfalls that may come your way?
• Are you sure that your actions will eventually lead to a result?
• Is this result really important to you? Will it be relevant to you in the future?

Guided by these answers, you will clearly be able to go towards your goal. Or they will prove to you that this goal is not really yours.