The 8 types of personal motivation, their definition and examples

Motivation is the inclination to do certain things or that emotion that invades us when we think that we can achieve a goal through our effort; it is the impulse that invites us to take action on something.

But the truth is that the source of motivation or the way it manifests is not always the same for everyone; in fact there are 8 different types of personal motivation that invite us to act for specific objectives. We will tell you about it in this article.

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What is motivation

When we speak of motivation we refer to that force that invites us to act to achieve somethingeven in difficult times. Everything we do, from eating when we're hungry, studying to taking a test, or dressing for a date, starts with personal motivation.

This only shows that our objectives, projects, challenges or goals are very diverse, so that something that drives us to achieve it, that is, motivation, is also of different types.

This is why psychology, in its effort to study human behavior, has taken a special interest in

understand what motivates us; what is that force that keeps us alive and that, on some occasions, prompts us to overcome even the heaviest loads.

Today there are different theories that talk about motivation, such as Maslow's pyramid or McClelland's three factors, among others, and that have different approaches that can be related to sports, learning, work, etc. This causes some types of motivation to have different names.

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The different types of personal motivation

Something fundamental that we must understand before describing the different types of motivation is that the degree of personal motivation that we feel for the same thing can have different intensities in each one of us. It is actually the importance that each of us give to that goal, which indicates the level of motivation we feel to carry it out.

Now, we present the different types of motivation and the sources of motivation that drive us to act the way we do.

1. Extrinsic motivation

As its name indicates, when we refer to the type of extrinsic motivation we are talking about stimuli that drive us to act, which come from abroad and from the activity that let's perform. In this sense, what really motivates us are external rewards that we obtain when we achieve the objective, such as money or recognition.

It is worth clarifying that when we have this type of motivation, we do not necessarily feel satisfaction in doing everything we have to do to achieve the objective we have set; it is only the reward we receive for meeting the goal that motivates us.

For example, we can work on something that we don't really like, but we are motivated by the money we receive for having worked; or when we are in university and we study hard to pass a subject that costs us work and we do not like it, but it motivates us and having achieved that subject that is necessary to be able to graduate.

2. Intrinsic motivation

Unlike extrinsic motivation, in this type of motivation the urge we feel to do an activity comes from within and not of some external reward that we can obtain with it.

This type of personal motivation is closely related to our personal growth and our self-fulfillment. In this case, we feel pleasure and satisfaction in the process of doing that activity and not only when it ends.

For example, when we start a yoga practice and we continue to attend the class while we are improving in the postures, we have an intrinsic motivation, because we are happy to be practicing yoga.

When we have this type of personal motivation we have no limits, because we get completely involved and put our effort into what we are doing.

3. Positive motivation

We speak of positive motivation when we have the impulse to carry out some activity and be constant in it, either because we can get a positive reward in the case that it is an extrinsic motivation, or for the pleasure of doing this activity if it is an intrinsic motivation.

4. Negative motivation

Otherwise, when the force that motivates us to carry out an activity is to avoid an unpleasant consequence, such as humiliation or punishment if it is externally motivated, or the feeling of failure or frustration if it is an internal motivation, it is a type of motivation negative.

5. Basic motivation

When we talk about basic motivation in sportWe are talking about that impulse or strength that we have that determines our level of commitment as athletes with the physical activity we do. In other words, it is about the interest we put in our physical performance and the positive results of sport.

6. Everyday motivation

In the case of everyday motivation in sport, we talk about the interest we feel in the activity daily physical and the results or gratification that we get from them immediately.

7. Ego-centered motivation

In this type of motivation in sport, the force that leads us to carry out the sporting activity that we practice is to obtain results that we compare with other athletes, that is, the impulse comes from our ego.

8. Task-focused motivation

In this case, the impulse to carry out our physical activity is taken out of our challenges and personal results and the impression we make on ourselves of progress and dominance in the sport we dedicate ourselves to.

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