Concerning Motivation

Motivation. Now that’s a loaded word. Everyone struggles with it at some point, often times at frequent intervals. Discovering or creating your motivation for a task is as important as conceptualizing an idea. It goes without saying that without sufficient motivation a goal is unattainable, regardless of how much thought went into its birth. Bear with me as I engage in a little bit of ‘philosophizing’ regarding this topic.


I envisage motivation manifesting itself in two forms: indirect and direct motivation. Direct motivation occurs when an individual completes a task for its own sake. He or she follows through with it only for the benefits of its completion. You might also call this internal motivation, for the task itself inspires effort. Indirect motivation, on the other hand, describes an individual being motivated not by the task, but by external factors that can result from its completion. For example, one would be indirectly motivated to succeed academically if they view their academics as a stepping stone toward future professional success. Conversely, one would be directly motivated if their quest for academic success was fueled by their love of learning. Obviously people can be simultaneously motivated both directly and indirectly.

Direct and indirect motivators play different roles at different parts of our lives. Arguably, direct motivation is ideal in your professional life. While it may be a platitude, it is indubitably true that happiness in a professional context is based largely on how sufficiently a job provides direct motivation. As the age old advice goes, aspire for a profession that makes you happy, one that you look forward to when you wake up in the morning. All good jobs should be able to provoke interest in employees not only for a salary, but also for providing engaging work; all good jobs should be direct motivators. I could go through a long list of reasons explaining why more jobs with direct motivators would be beneficial for society at large, but I’ll let someone else do that. This video is an animated portrayal of a speech delivered by Dan Pink, in which he explains why direct motivators are more effective than indirect ones.

While you cannot affect the job market or the availability of directly motivating jobs, you can begin to think about your preferences and personality. Knowing yourself and what you would be interested in doing is the first step to finding a job that will make you happy. You might want to check out the last post on this blog (concerning reflection) to find out how you might go about doing this.