Is Motivation A Learned Skill Or A Personality Trait?

Before it can be determined if motivation is learn or a personality trait that you just have (born with) we need to think about what motivation is.

It’s funny when we look at the things that we are motivated to do in our lives and the excuses that we make when we say we are not motivated vs motivated to do.

When I was kid Monday thru Friday my alarm woke me up to get ready for school. But on Saturday mornings for cartoons there was no need for alarm. Or during the summer to get up and go to the lake or go play ball with my friends again no alarm, I just wanted to get up to do those things so I was “motivated”.

So let’s answer the question, is motivation a learned skill or a personality trait? It's not the same for everyone, it depends on “the thing” that is driving factor. There are two primary motivating factors, seeking pleasure or avoiding pain these are the basics of life that drive us all. After those anything else you achieve is a personal choice and based on your personality.

The big challenge that most of us face, is how do we get and keep the motivation that we need (want) to be successful. Everyone is going to deal with drops in motivation these are expected and caused by unexpected challenges and difficulties that pop up from time to time. That’s called life.

But sometimes this is caused due to the slow or lack of progress we are making towards our goals and this wears us down and kills the motivation we started with. The challenge that you need to accept is keeping your motivation level as high as possible so that you can achieve your goals and success that you want to achieve.

In order to help you attain the goals you wish to attain, you should set goals that interest you.

People need to learn what makes them “tick” when it comes to what interests them. As mentioned in the last chapter, not every form of motivation will inspire people to raise their performance and their effort to achieve their goals. Some people will be motivated by achievement and/or growth, some will be motivated by incentive and/or fear, others will be motivated by power and/or social factors.

You need to learn what makes you “tick”- what inspires you to really raise your game and increase your performance, focus, and effort to attain your goals?

Really evaluate yourself and see what inspires and motivates you to push yourself harder and reach for your goals.

As mentioned before, we all will experience periods of lower motivation, especially if we are experiencing less success than we anticipated or moving more slowly toward our goals than we anticipated, etc. The key is to keep the motivation high, as it’s really our “fuel” to attain the goals we want to achieve. One good way to keep our motivation high is to find inspiration in the environment that surrounds us.

Inspiration is defined by Dictionary.com as “a thing or person that inspires.” This means that a person or thing can lead us to increase our effort and motivate us to strive more for our goals.

There are several ways to establish a positive, successful mindset to help you to achieve your goals. Look back upon your life and think about your recent successes. Have you been recently promoted or has your business reached a new height and level of success?  Have you helped someone else to reach a new level of success in his/her life? Have you helped someone who was in trouble, rescued an animal, or adopted a pet? Have you launched a successful product recently? Have you put a smile on someone’s face who has been dealing with adversity, depression, or the recent loss of a loved one?

All of these successes can help to inspire you and give you a positive, successful mindset.  They can show you that you have what it takes to reach and achieve your goals.  You are smart enough, determined enough, and skilled enough to achieve the goals you want to achieve, despite the challenges or roadblocks that stand in your way.

If you can’t inspire yourself enough to attain a positive, successful mindset, talk to family and/or friends to help gain encouragement about your abilities and having what it takes to succeed and reach your goals. If you need more inspiration, consider talking to a psychologist about any doubts or inhibitions you may have when it comes to your ability of completing tasks, getting things done, and doing tasks at a high level. You can also read and/or listen to inspirational podcasts, and/or music and YouTube and/or other training videos to help put you in a better frame of mind about your own abilities and your overall ability to reach your goals.

In order to be happy and satisfied, one needs to be motivated. Motivation basically gives us the hope to look ahead and dream higher. It is the force that propels us to go ahead. But why do we need to change? People change for various reasons. Some change because they don’t want to face the pain in their lives. Some change because they are sick of their failures. For instance: poor grades can make us realize the importance of hard work while studying and can motivate us to change. Similarly, debts can makes us look for other jobs or to do more than one job.

This world is full of negativity and regardless of whatever people say, we need to face this negativity and try to get over it. But it is you who has to decide. Who is in charge of your life, you or your surroundings? Once, you decide that you are in charge of whatever happens to you, you will put your foot down and get over whatever negativity surrounds you.

It is easy for us to remain is the shelter of our comfort zone, but have your ever tried stepping out of your comfort zone and take a sneak peek into what lies beyond? What exactly prevents you from doing so? Failure? Fears? Shame?

The basic thing that you need to improve yourself is first, to have a goal and set some objectives. Once, you know where you are headed towards, you will easily maintain your focus and not be strayed away by anything that hinders your path.

Next is to set some concrete plans which can enable you to go for your goals. While planning, don’t just think within your comfort zone. Step out of the box in order to discover a newer you. Identify your problems and limitations and use techniques to get over them. Make sure that you know what your weaknesses are and correct them while being in the domain of the ethical values that you cherish.

Execute your plan and don’t worry whether you have succeeded or not. Failures would not break you, but rather would strengthen you. Re work your plans if they fail, identify loopholes and use methods which help you overcome these loopholes. Every failure teaches you what to avoid and ends in giving you a big lesson. Learn from these lessons so that you can strengthen the newer you.

Try to avoid negative thoughts and people. Such thoughts and words tend to self limit your potential and make you go weak. If you believe in your plans, you focus on your direction and make changes only if you wish to, regardless of what others say. This approach would make you jump over the limitations that block your way.

Lastly, you need to enjoy life and take things as they come. When you are happy and content, your mind would work faster and success will come your way. So hold on hard to your dreams, take control of your life and set ahead to enjoy the journey with a newer you.

We often wonder how a person can be so successful in life! Is it because he inherited the success or is it because of his unique character? There are certain traits that we can adopt in order to be successful in life. These are:

Sincerity: Being sincere and following your values and beliefs would guarantee you success. So don’t try to be something that you aren’t. Just be yourself and impress others.

Be genuine: Your actions are greater than your words. So don’t exaggerate or deceive others. Just be genuine.

Being wholehearted: You should be enthusiastic regarding things you do. So you should whole heartedly devote yourself to do good to others and your community.

Honest: Being honest is quite difficult but when you let honesty guide you, you’ll achieve greater success. So never deceive or do fraud to get ahead in life.

Heartfelt: Be honest and appreciate others. Thank people who do good to you and reach out to those in need.

Heartiness: Be warm and genuine with others. This would radiate your character and affection towards others.

Humility: No matter how rich or successful you are, always be humble with others. This would have a longer impact on others.

Personal integrity: It is important that no matter how successful you become, you should always keep your values intact. Never trade your moral values for material benefits.

Incorruptibility: Be affirmative and hold your ground to stick towards your beliefs. Don’t let others corrupt you.

Good judgment: Show good and fair judgment in life. Treat everybody with equality and respect.

Focused: Always maintain your focus and give your total attention to the people you interact.

Courtesy: Be good to others and show courtesy even to those who are strangers.

Civic sense: Exhibit civility and respect. Don’t dominate people and speak with kindness and respect.

Wisdom: Wisdom is gained by experience. Be in touch with your inner self in order to gain higher understanding and wisdom.

Charity: Be generous and charitable to others. Extend help even to those who have not helped you.

Empathy: Know that everybody is different and has different needs. Understand others feelings and thoughts.

Sympathy: Always be sympathetic to people under emotional stress. Try to understand things from their view point.

Compassionate: Reach out and help those who are in distress. You wouldn’t believe the good wishes they’ll send out to you.

Altruism: Think for others without being selfish. Do good and don’t expect things in return. Moreover, don’t express to others the favors you do to them.

High-minded: Give your money, time and knowledge to others so that they can learn from your experience. Don’t stop short thinking that they’ll get ahead of you. It takes a high mind and a generous heart to do that!

The traits given above are some of the qualities that a successful person should possess. Try to adopt them in daily life and make them a part of your character.

Why are motivational skills important?

Motivation typically is defined as the force that compels us to action. This is what causes us to work hard and gives us the impetus we need to succeed at whatever we choose to do. Motivation is also the driving force behind our behaviors and our ability to accomplish the goals we want to achieve.

Everyone needs motivation in order to gain that drive or will to succeed, to do the great things or goals we want to achieve in our lives. It’s similar to an automobile needing fuel to get where it needs to go; without that motivation to drive us, we will have a very difficult time getting to where we need and want to go, much like an automobile without fuel.

Motivation is not the same for everyone. Some people will be driven by a love of family, others will be driven by their own careers, yet others will be driven by circumstances outside of themselves, such as the environment. What drives one person may not drive someone else, but everyone is driven by something, someone, some factor. The key is learning what makes us “tick,” what causes us to raise our level of performance, our awareness, and our effort to achieve our goals and attain success in our lives.

During your life you will need to learn how to find inspiration in the environment and circumstances that surround you.  You will need to come to learn how to establish a successful mindset so that you can achieve the goals you want to achieve. You will need to learn how aligning your values with your work will give you increased motivation to strive harder and do your best to reach your goals. You will need to learn how to surround yourself with successful work and how this can build your motivation and allow you to strive that much harder for your goals. Finally, you will need to understand that finding a mentor can help keep you motivated so that you have a greater chance of achieving your goals.