Motivation and Study Strategies

Motivation is having a reason or reasons to act/behave in a particular way. It creates “drive” in people whether it is in pursuit of a goal, or the need to complete an activity. It produces enthusiasm and a willingness to achieve in both a work environment and in your personal life. Motivation can be increased and decreased in line with the incentives on offer.

Motivation is the force that makes us do things: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we have inspiration to complete the task.

“Motivation is the process whereby goal-orientated activity is instigated and sustained” (Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008. As cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p.284). Motivation comes in many forms and can be divided into two broad categories - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators are external

Motivation is a very broad term that is discussed in a variety of settings. There is the motivation to perform in a business setting, the motivation to perform on the field of competition, the motivation to provide for friends and family, and the motivation to accomplish goals that have been set. These are all various motivations that any one person can be involved with at any time. According to Maslow, motivation always exists within a person and in various forms, “...motivation is constant, never ending, fluctuating, and complex, and that it is an almost universal characteristic of practically every organismic state of affairs” (Maslow, 1954). As complex as motivation seems, it is everyone’s intention to identify their personal

. Lee, P., & Pang, Vencent. (2014, April). The influence of motivational orientations on academic achievement among working adults in continuing education. International Journal of Training, (), 5-15.

From an early age, it is drilled into our heads: Restlessness, distraction, and ignorance are the enemies of success. We’re told that learning is all self-discipline, that we must confine ourselves to designated study areas, turn off the music, and maintain a strict ritual if we want to ace that test, memorize that presentation, and create writing assignment.

During my high school years, I can confidently say I have excelled in my academic endeavours. This success is partially due to my desire to learn. I am always intrigued by the lessons and concepts that are at the core of assigned work. My passion for learning has facilitated my learning process; because I am usually interested in the material that is being taught, my ability to retain and understand information is heightened. My academic success is also due to my drive to do the best I can. Since grade nine, I have demanded excellence from myself in all academic subjects. I strived to perform to the best of my abilities in the first high school years so that I would adopt that habit early and take it with me through the senior high school years. Finally, my academic excellence

Motivation can be defined as the desire or inspiration to carry out specific tasks or to do something. Motivation is required when goals are being set and more so in their execution. In a work setting, motivation can be defined as a process through which individuals choose between alternative forms of behavior with the aim of achieving personal objectives. The goals sought by individuals can be extrinsic or relatively tangible such as monetary rewards and promotion, or intrinsic or intangible such as self esteem or job satisfaction (Armstrong, 2006). In learning, the desire to attain good grades is what motivates a student to study hard everyday as they prepare for the exam. On the other hand, for a teacher to put his best foot forward, he

Motivation is the number one driving force behind anything and everything an individual does each day. “Motivation is the desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform an assigned task. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior directed towards a goal.” (Honor, 2009). Motivation can determine the outcome of projects, goals, and can set limits on what an individual can obtain or what they believe they can obtain. Motivation often is the deciding factor on how successful a project in an organization is, and an individual’s needs and desires can both influence a person’s motivation greatly. Motivation can also determine how well an individual does in school, college, or university.

I sometimes feel I lack the motivation for learning. I mean I want to be successful, but it is as if I fall short of the results. This realization about myself makes me want to change the way I do things in my life, so I can get the results I want. I am going to think of it like a challenge and in the end is the reward. Therefore, I need to start with making a good studying environment away from all distractions such as my main distraction electronics. I need to start by turning off the TV, logging off Facebook and putting my smartphone in another room. After I have completely disconnected myself, the attitude has to be everything. I struggle a lot with keeping a positive attitude. It always seems as if I don't get something right the first time I get frustrated and want to give up. I need to remember to find the good that comes out of the "I can succeed attitude". Therefore, I need to think of the overall outcome, that being a good education and my dream job if I work hard

Motivation is the “why” behind our behaviors. Behavior that is usually goal-oriented. The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or cognitive in nature. There are, indeed, a plethora of inducements that cause us to act the way we act and do the things we do. They include things like quenching our thirst, reading to gain knowledge, studying to ace an exam, surpassing quotas and meeting deadlines for a promotion, etc. According to Kendra Cherry’s article on “WHAT IS MOTIVATION”, there are three components of motivation: activation, persistence and intensity. Activation is the decision to initiate a behavior. Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist. Intensity is the

First off, who I am as a learner has changed over the past years. At times before, I wouldn’t take certain classes or assignments seriously and have learned my lessons when I failed. I believe having classmates at the time who weren’t as focused as I wanted to be, played a big role in my lack of understanding in classes. I understood later that if I felt learning was so important to me, I need to realize that it is my future and I needed to focus on my own. Having learner in my top 5 strengths defines me very well. Rath (2007) explains that, “The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you” (p.133). I believe this defines me as a learner because I enjoy having books in hand, opening up my notebook to write notes and learning new ways to understand the class. Regardless if the content is something I have to get in to or if I don’t do well on tests, I enjoy the process of studying and learning more even when I know I didn’t do so well; that is what motivates me. I believe as long as I keep this mindset and understand that this is my strength, I will continue to grow and further my education as much as possible. Even though I have failed a few of my last classes, I never let that stop me from continuing. Knowing that I have “failed” makes me realize I know I can do better and I try my hardest not to let it get me down. I will not get further if I don’t keep trying and as a learner I am a motivator to myself in my studies.

Walter Landon once said, " Study is the bane of childhood, the oil of youth, the indulgence of adulthood, and a restorative in old age."

A theory that supports motivation is the self determination theory. In the self determination theory people need to grow and gain fulfillment by a drive in them. Self Determination is the process of deciding how to act on ones environment. When one is trying to overcome a challenge or encountering a new experience a person wants to gain the knowledge to succeed over the new challenge. When self determination theory is in focus internal factors are at play; a person is primarily focused on the need to gain knowledge or independence. There are three factors that contribute to a student’s self determination and the needs are linked to the student’s

‘Motivation’ is derived from the Latin term ‘movere’ that means ‘to move’. Thus, motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates a behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive (Luthans). Broadly speaking, motivation is willingness to exert high levels of efforts towards organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts’ ability to satisfy some individual needs (Robbins). Need means some internal state that make certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individual. These drives generate a search behaviour to find particular goals, that if attained,