• Explain what motivation theorists mean when they talk about attributions.
Two people are in a race, and one of them wins. Did that individual win because he or she was a faster runner or because the other person was having an off day? The answer depends on which runner you ask. The winner will attribute the victory to his or her ability and feel confident about the next race. The loser will blame the loss on circumstances beyond his or her control (feeling sick, poor night's sleep, painful shoes) and be less likely to race again unless those factors change.
A person's motivation to attempt a task is directly related to his or her confidence in a positive outcome. If people believe they will be unsuccessful, they are less likely to try and
Motivation is a key driving force in most human beings and lies hidden to be discovered
motivation to do something you are most likely not going to want to do it.
The Expectancy Theory of Motivation (hereafter “The Expectancy Theory”) is theory that states: “the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.” (Robbins & Judge, 2012) The theory is among the most widely accepted theories relating to motivation. (QuickMBA, 1999-2010)
It is within human nature to be competitive. While it is one of the most basic and primal instincts that has ensured our survival for centuries, today has become more for personal achievement. In movies, shows and on the internet we are constantly exposed to people competing for various reason. Athletes compete for the gold medal, game show contestants for money prizes and characters in movies for the object of their affections. When we best the challenges we decide to face, we often receive an overwhelming feeling of success along with the prize and, in turn, our confidence is boosted drastically. We are encourage to become the best versions of ourselves. However, when our attempts end in failure, we feel disappointed in ourselves and are discouraged from pushing ourselves again. In modern times, individuals often lack the motivation to challenge themselves because they fear their odds of failure. They would rather remain apathetic than even attempt to push themselves. It is essential that we have the dedication, fortitude and courage to regain the confidence to at least attempt a challenge or alter it to make it more beneficial to ourselves.
Following motivation comes confidence, confidence in ability, confidence in rehabilitation, confidence in family and friends
The motivation that results from the doubt or disbelief of others is very powerful and it has the ability to make the impossible a reality. We have all heard the stories of the wealthy businessmen and the famous sports athletes who defied the little chance they had to succeed in life. These are true examples of what a person can accomplish when he uses the doubt of others to motivate himself to accomplish an extremely difficult goal. The significance and pleasure of this type of motivation can not be denied. However, it is even more important for a person to be internally motivated and not have to rely on the influence of others.
However, when they end up failing they get very angry and demotivated. In Dr. Randy Pausch’s perspective, we need to use those failures as motivation. Even though you do not get what you wanted at least experience it. Experiences are what stays with you forever so use that as motivation to continue and not give up. Some things in life are achievable while others are not.
There are times we are called to undertake tasks where the chance of success is low. The task, however, must still be attempted. We must still strive for success even when it is unlikely or even impossible. If you do not understand that, you should not be here.”
Even if you do fail, thinking positively can help motivate you to keep succeeding and not doubts
We as humans love to think of ideas and plans that we will never actually follow through with. Humans get bored of their ideas really quickly when things don’t work out right away. Creating and preparing for the new idea is the part that we enjoy the most. Imagining the success of something is almost all one needs to be content with the idea that they will probably never undertake. Some prepare completely and then never follow through with their work for fear of never finding the “right” time to start. Those who wish and only dream about achieving something remain ignorant and never understand the value of hard work. The only worthwhile gain is in actual experience and in just trying even if one fails. When the hard work starts, people give up and are
As Burkeman mentions, Oettingen experiments demonstrated that thinking about successful outcomes can diminish the motivation for achievements.
It is easy to imagine how appealing giving up would be and why having some form of a goal helps an individual’s drive to continue
Another equally sized group may not feel the need to shoot high. They will opt for the easier choice. While this may work for some, it brings great stress to others. Recently, Andres, a boy enrolled in Advanced Placement class, was given the option to do a five paged extra credit assignment. His grade would not be affected if he didn’t do the assignment. The easier thing to do would be to not do the extra credit work and focus on other things. However, Andres knows that he would feel guilty over this. By ignoring the opportunity to better his grade, he would also be ignoring his potential. To Andres, as well as several others, having failed at a huge task is normal. Yet, doing an easy task with optimum results is wrong. Many people feel that
The third reason people lose hope is a result of constant resistance in their efforts. It becomes very discouraging to an individual when they face opposition time after time, situation after situation. This resistance drains them of the energy needed to move forward. Over time, they will begin to slow down until they eventually stop producing results. Many people view resistance as abnormal, thinking it means they are on the wrong path. However, resistance occurs even when we are on the right track. Author, Steven Pressfield, wrote, “Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: the most scared we are of a work or calling, the surer we can be that we have to do it. Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of resistance. Therefore, the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no resistance.”
Motivation doesn’t depend on circumstances. Motivation is for people who are already inclined to try to succeed.