The term motivation is derived from the Latin word movere, meaning "to move".Motivation can be broadly defined as the forces acting on or within a person that cause the stimulation, direction, and persistence of goal-directed, voluntary effort. Motivation theory is thus concerned with the processes that explain why and how human behaviour is activated. Motivation is the reason or reeasons why people engage in a particular behaviour. These reasons may include the fulfilment of basic needs such as food or the acquiring of a desired object, goal or state of being or an ideal. The motivation for behaviour may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as selfishness or morality.
Motivation is what drives a person into doing something. Much of what we do is driven by the thought of a potential reward, or a consequence of not doing something. The rewards or consequences can be obvious tangible benefits, such as a financial reward, enjoyment or the risk of these being taken away as in losing one's job. There are also other benefits that are less obvious, but which still motivate people to do something such as for internal satisfaction, or feeling of achievement. The expectation of a benefit is a major reason that somebody would be motivated to do something. Each day brings with it an endless list of decisions to be made. The process of making those decisions is driven, in large part, by the hope of a benefit or the fear of a consequence.
Motivated behaviour is usually goal oriented, the goal may be associated with a drive such as hunger or thirst, called primary motivation. However, motivation is also closely related to sensory stimuli, an animal will not usually exhibit eating behaviour unless food is presented. Unlike instinctive behaviour, motivation depends on affect which is an emotional state. Finally, motivation can be learned in which case it is called secondary motivation and typically elicits more complex behaviour than simple reflexes.
Motivation as an issue encompasses the study of personality. The kay position of personality is "What makes us tick?" and ideas about motivation are fundamental to several theoretical responses to that question. Theorists differ in the precise emphasis they palce on the dynamic and motivational aspects of functioning, depending on the aspects of personality which are the focus of their interest. Within personality theory, theorists such as Henry Murray have placed a heavy and unambiguous emphasis on the motivational process itself and the variety of needs which motivate human behaviour, such as the need for affiliation, the need for being cared for an so forth.
Other motivational theorists have concentrated on non-biological or particularly human motivations, such as achievement motivation (McLelland, 1961) or the power motive (Winter, 1973). Probably the most well-known motivation theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, in which higher level needs include affiliation and recognition, as well as self -respect and competence. Later, Douglas McGregor described an authoritarian and traditional Theory X contrasted with a holistic and participative Theory Y. In 'Motivation to Work', Frederick Herzberg describes motivation based upon empowerment and self esteem. Another very interesting, modern and developing theory of motivation is called the theory of psychological reversals, otherwise known as the Reversal Theory, or RT for short. This theory was developed by Michael Apter and was first fully expounded in his 1982 book entitled 'The Experience of Motivation--The Theory of Psychological Reversals'.
The idea of reversal comes from the phenomenon of reversing between two poles of experience and experiencing the same things in two opposing ways. For example when take-off in an aeroplane, we often fluctuate between fear and exhileration. This idea of dual and opposite phenomenological possibilities for the interpretation of our experience is central to the theory of psychological reversals. According to the Reversal Theory we reverse with varying degrees of regularity between one motivational state and its opposite and that, therefore, we often then to be inconsistent, even in the same situation. With regard to flying, many of us will have shared the experience of alternating between the thrill of being pushed into our seats by the g-forces of the plane's rapid acceleration on take-off and the anxiety of contemplating the consequences of something going wrong, especially at this most vulnerable moment of the journey. These alternations of opposing experiences are examples of the reversals from which reversal theory derives its name.
Motivation has been the focus of many studies due to its crucial role in determining how people choose to use their limited and precious time and energy. Theories have been developed with the goal of understanding how humans are motivated and to what ends motivation can be used. The practical goals of such theories range from helping indivduals lead healthier lives to helping corporations enjoy a greater profit by increasing employee productivity.
The Stages of Change Model (SCM) developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente at the University of Rhode Island, views behavioural change as a dynamic process. The model has been applied to a broad range of behaviour such as smoking cessation, weight loss and injury prevention. According to this theory, once an accurate assessment of the correct stage is made and the needs of the stage addressed the motivation for implementing and maintaining change will increase significantly.
SIGNIFICANCE: Each moment of life, a person must determine how to live, how to behave and what activities and goals to pursue. When faced with the many options that life presents, people often feel overwhelmed and incapable of making successful choices. They struggle to understand the causes of their failures, their feelings of depression, their lack of interest in daily activities or their inability to create satisfying relationships. The exploration and application of the concept of motivation provides a method of facilitating the investigation and identification of obstacles that may hinder the creation or accomplichment of satisfying interacions and activities. The developing and testing of measurement tools that can help assess the level and type of motivation as wells as pinpoint problem areas in the process of applying motivation is very valuable in managing an organisation.
Having motivation and deciding to act is still not enough to ensure reaching one's goal. Action leads to success when the individual understands the ingredients necessary to reach the goal, has the know-how and the skill to plan and perform the appropriate task, has enough energy to initiate and sustain the necessary action and is not blocked by uncontrollable elements of life. Thus, the concept of motivation gives rise to many stimulating questions. What creates, causes or stimulates motivation? Are we born with motivation? Do we lose motivation or does it just 'fall asleep'? What is the absence of motivation? If motivation does not imply action, does action imply motivation? Does motivation involve the movement itself or simply the push to move? Can one be purely intellectual, purely emotional or purely physical, or is it always some of each? Is motivation good or bad in itself no matter what its focuss? Can certain psychological disorders be understood in terms of the motivational profile of the individual, that is, the level of motivation and whether it is positive or negative? Can we gather up our motivation, as one gathers up a hammer and saw, and start working on a certain project? Do we simply possess a quantity of motivation, and can we choose whether we want to use it or not and to what aim? Can we feel motivated and appear unmotivated to others? Is motivation a complex term that is actually made up of aspects of a process? Rather than 'having' motivation, is it more helpful to say that we are engaged in interactions or activities that srimulate our will to live and create and grow? Can we have motivation without demonstrating motivation? Does one have the feeling of motivation and then seek out a goal, or does one see something he wants and then feel motivation? How does understanding our motivation lead to an understanding of our values and vice versa? If we label the level or direction of motivation as good or bad, on what values or principles are we basing this judgment?
Internal and External Motivation:
What motivates us? What incentives are most appropriate for particular jobs or tasks? Are rewards and pay simply bribes to 'manipulate' workers? What is the role of intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) motivation? When we perform work for another, we expect to receive something in return, whether it is a reward or equitable compensation for the work we have done. That is to say that there is a clear, valued reward in mind, that there is a clear path to the reward and that people believe if they follow the path, the reward will be forthcoming. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades in exams. The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task. An intrinsically motivated person will work on a math equation, for example, because it is enjoyable. Or an intrinsically motivated person will worrk on a solution to a problem because the challenge of finding a solution provides a sense of pleasure. In neither case does the person work on the task because there is some reward involved, such as a prize, a payment, or in the case of students, a graade.
Intrinsic motivation does not mean, however, that a person wll not seek rewards. It just means that such external rewards are not enough to keep a person motivated. An intrinsically motivated student, for example, may want to get a good grade on an assignment, but if the assignment does not interest that student, the possibility of a good grade is not enough to maintain that student's motivation to put any effort into the project. Intrinsic motivation is when you are motivated by internal factors, as opposed to the external drivers of extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation drives one to do things just for the fun of it, because one believes it is a good or right thing to do. For example, most people's hobbies are intrinsically motivated. Notice the passion with which peoplecollect little bits of china or build detailed model ships. Few people, however, carry that amount of passion into their workplace.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
In 1943 Abraham Maslow, one of the founding fathers of the humanist approach to management, wrote an influential paper that set out five fundamental human needs and their hierarchical nature. Maslow concluded that before we can be intrinsically motivated we must first satisfy some basic human needs and that there are five basic levels of human needs and they follow a hierarchical order. A key aspect of the model is the hierarchical nature of needs. The lower the needs in the hierarchy, the more fundamental they are and the more a person will tend to abandon the higher needs in order to pay attention to sufficiently meeting the lower needs. For example, when we are ill, we care little for what others think about us, all we want is to get better. We have basic needs, hygiene needs, which, when not met, cause us to be dissatisfied. Meeting these needs does not make us satisfied, it merely prevents us from becoming dissatisfied. The 'hygiene' word is deliberately medical as it is an analogy of the need to do something that is necessary, but which does not contribute towards making the patient well, it only stops them from getting sick. These are also called maintenance needs. There is a separate set of needs which, when resolved, do make us satisfied. These are called motivators.
The motivational factors are explained below:
- Phsiological needs: We are motivated to satisfy needs that ensure our physical survival. Needs in this group include food, water, air, shelter, clothing and sex. Most people have little difficulty in satisfying their physiological needs allowing them to concentrate on higher level needs. For som though, physiological needs are dominant and are the biggest needs in their lives. They will tend not to be motivated to strive to achieve the needs higher in the hierarchy.
- Safety needs: Once physiological needs are met one can concentrate on bringing safety and security to our lives. Safety and security needs include order, stability, routine, familiarity, control over one's life and environment,certainty and health.
- Social or love and belonging needs: These needs include love, affection, belonging and acceptance. People look for these needs in relationships with other people and are motivated for these needs by the love from their families.
- Esteem needs: All people have a need for a stable and usually a high evaluation of themselves for self -respect or self esteem and for the esteem of others. These needs may, therefore, be classified into two subsidiary sets. These are, first, the desire for strength, achievement, adequacy, mastery of competence, confidence, independence and freedom. Second, we have what we call the desire for reputation or prestige, defining it as respect from other people, status, fame, glory, dominance, importance, recognition, dignity or appreciation.
- Need for self-actualisation: At this level in the hierarchy of needs, an individual who has satisfied most of his lower needs is motivated to strive to achieve his or her full potential as a human being. Once someone has satisfied the first four levels of needs they have the ability to concentrate on functioning to their best potential. But even if all these needs are satisfied , we may often still expect that a new discontent and restlessness will soon develop, unless the individual is doing what they are fitted for. Musicians must play music, artists must paint if they are to be at peace with themselves. What humans can be, theymust be. They must be true to their own nature.
The first four needs are what we call deficiency needs, because they come from things we are lacking. These needs can be met only by external sources, by the environment, people or things going on around us. Self-atualisation is a growth need. This does not just address what we are lacking in our lives, but it gives us room to grow and develop as an individual. This need is always intrinsically motivated, because we do it out of pure enjoyment and desire to grow. Maslow does explain that self-actualisation is rarely achieved, even among adults. These are the needs that are most commonly discussed and used. In fact Maslow later added three more needs by splitting two of the above the five needs. Between esteem and self-actualisation needs was added:
- Need to know an understand, which explains the cognitive need of the academic.
- The need for aesthetic beauty, which is the emotional need of the artist.
Self-actualisation was divided into:
Self-actualisation, which is realising one's own potential, as above.
Transcendence, which is helping others to achieve their potential.
Herxberg's Motivation - Hygiene Theory:
Frederick Herzberg studied and practiced clinical psychology in Pittsburgh, where he researched the work-related motivations of thousands of employees. His findings were published in 'The Motivation to work' in 1959. He concluded that there were two types of motivation:
Hygiene Factors that can demotivate if they are not present, such as supervision, interpersonal relations, physical working conditions, and salary. Hygiene factors affect the level of dissatisfaction, but are rarely quoted as creators of job satisfaction.
Motivation Factors that will motivate if they are present, such as achievement, advancement, recognition and responsibility. Dissatisfacton is not nromally blamed on motivation factors, but they are cited as the cause of job satisfaction.
So, once you have satisfied the Hygiene factors, providing more of them won't generate much more motivation, but lack of the Motvation Factors won't of themselves demotivate. There are clear relationships to Maslow here, but Herzberg's ideas really shaped modern thinking about reward and recognition in major companies. Below is a table depicting the two kinds of factors. The hygiene factors are extrinsic and the motivation factors are mostly intrinsic. One can see that the extrinsic or external factors prevent demotivation rather than causing people to be motivated.
A list of the two kinds of motivational factors in the hygiene theory.
Hygiene Factors:
Compensation.
Benefits.
Working Conditions.
Job Security.
Policies and Supervision.
Status.
Interpersonal relations.
Motivation Factors:
Recognition.
Opportunity for advancement.
Sense of accomplishment.
Responsibility.
Interesting, challenging work.
Theory X / Theory Y:
Douglas McGregor published 'The Human Side of Enterprise' in 1960, in which he suggested that traditional management methods, which he called Theory X, might not be the only way to get people motivated. Instead, you could take a different approach based on Theory Y and achieve the same if not more.
Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control, based on these assumptions:
The average person inherently dislikes work and will avoid it if at all possible.
As a result, most people have to be coerced, controlled and threatened if they are to put in enough effort to achieve the organisation's goals.
In fact the average person prefers to be directed, avoids responsibility, is not ambitious and simplify seeks security.
Theory Y, based on the integration of individual and organisational goals, assumes:
The physical and mental effort of work is as natural as play or rest, so the average person does no inherently dislike work.
We are capable of self-direction and self-control, so those factors do not necessarily have to come from elsewhere.
Our commitment to an objective is a function of the reward for its achievement.
The average person learns not only to accept but to seek responsibility.
Most people have a capacity for imagination, ingenuity and creativity.
The intellectual potential of most people is under-used in modern industrial life.
Theory Y is not a soft option. In fact it can take as much management effort as Theory X, but the effects of a Theory Y approach will last longer. The Theory X manager is a dying breed, although it has to be said he is not yet extinct, and Theory Y lies behind most modern approaches to motivation. Nowadays the terminology is used as a polite way of referring to the old command-and-control approach to managment, the trouble is the diehard Theory X manager won't pick up the subtle criticism!
Importance of Self-Motivation:
Self-motivation is the ability to motvate yourself, to find a reason and the necessary strength to do something, without the need of being influenced to do so by another person or external incentives such as a promotion or a reward, etc., working in a careful and consistent manner without giving up. So why do you need self-motivation?
Let us face it you are the only one who has your best interests in mind and the only one who genuinely wants to make the best of life. If you cannot motivate yourself to take the necessary steps to achieve your goals who will? You cannot always rely on others to motivate you, if you have positive friends who are always there when you need them then you are indeed lucky and very much in the minority. If you are lonely or have few friends when you face any difficulties in your life you must rely on your own motivation to get you through. Lack of self-motivation at that time could lead to discouragement, resulting in your giving up whaat you had undertaken to achieve. You need self-motivation to achieve anything because if you do not encourage yourself to accept opportunity and challenge who will? Self-motivation helps you plan and find direction in your life and to take up a new activity, hobby or challenge maybe for a reward or maybe just for deriving satisfaction. You will also need self-motivation to give you the courage to see things through despite setbacks or negative inputs from others.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, an American Protestant preacher and author of the book, 'The Power of Positive Thinking' and a progenitor of the theory of 'positive thinking' has said 'People become really quite remarkable when they statrt thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success'. But belief in oneself is only the first step. To achieve what you believe in you have to take action and we have already seen that action cannot be taken unless we are driven or motivated to do so. As external motivation is not always present, especially when troubles are around, it is self-motivation that will without doubt give you the incentive and much needed support to get on with it.
Some suggestions to stay self-motivated:
Reaching a goal is easier said than done. There are times when it gets hard to be motivated especially when you do not feel like trying. There are times that show it you are self-confident enough to stay on course to keep trying. You cannot pretend to be successful, you have to be motivated. So what can you do? If you lack confidence in yourself you should figure out what your issues are and make a plan to change. You will have to be as honest as you can and write down a list of things that bother you and what you can improve on. Make a plan for your spiritual side as well. This is important because it will help you withstand the troubles life brings. It takes time to change. You should be patient. If you start right now you will eventually change your future. The following are somw ips to help you stay motivated:
- To stay motivated you will need a plan. Read through books and articles if you need external sources. Write down ideas that you think will help you get motivated. You may start to find more as you begin to write them down.
- Break your long term goals into short term goals and each day and night write a goal for the next day. If you focus on small steps you will eventually accomplish your goal.
- Use bright post-it notes to write down all the positive things that will happen if you accomplish your goals. Stick them all over your home or work place to remind you not to give up.
- Eat well, exercise regularly and get a good night's sleep. These three will keep your body in optimum shape so you can focus on the day's goals.
- For each milestone make sure you have a reward. Take some time for your self. Take a nap or buy a new outfit or go to some place that you like, anything that will make you feel good about your accomplishments.
When bad days come along remember that there is always tomorrow. If your mood stays the same it might be a sign of depression. Issues such as depression can hamper your goals so make sure you check it out. When you reach your goals you will know yourself in a way you would never have believed possible. Never quit no matter what because if you follow these tips and are successful you can do it all over again.
Motivation comes from inside and other people can only give you a stimulant, an external inspiration, that can make you take action. But what happens after that? What happens after you have reached the self-motivation level you wanted? What lies beyond the realm of self-motivation, self-understanding and inspiration? In the aftermath, there is a new task for you - achieving success while maintaining the same level of self-motivation. Below are some self-motivation tips that will keep you going when you feel down:
Look Back: Remember how you were a person with no or very low motivation, no success, no purpose and no self-esteem? Can you notice the change you made in yourself? Don't you think you have come a long way in the process of deveoping your self motivation skills? Did you notice the change in your attitude and outlook and opinion on things? Did you notice how people react more favourably towards you? Well, you sure have come a long way and it is good to look back because these are all positive things. You have achieved them through your hard work and you should be proud about it.
Plan Again: You had set a plan for yourself when you began and you have executed atleast some of its parts. It is now time to compare your performance with your plan. Did you achieve what you set out to achieve? Or did you fall short by just a little bit? Whatever place you are at, compare your performance and make a new plan again taking into consideration your shortcomings in the last plan. This will act as a new source of self-motivation and give your necessary inspiration in moments of despair.
FACTORS LEADING TO DEMOTIVATION:
Staying motivated is a struggle; our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Everyone faces doubt and depression. What separates the highly successful is their ability to keep moving forward inspite of the down turns life often takes. There is no simple solution for a lack of motivation. Even after overcoming it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure. The key is understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions. By learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralise negative ones, and focus at the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump before it gains momentum.
The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence in yourself. This usually happens because you are focussing entirely on what you want and neglecting what you already have. When you only think about what you want, your mind creates explanations for why you are not getting it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of your competitors and start making excuses for why you cannot succeed. In this state, you tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self-confidence.
The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, you will realise how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get you motivated to build on your current success.
It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can improve your mindset, but it's amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief. Whe you truly believe that you desire success, your mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.
The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you focus on what you don't want, rather than on a concrete goal? We normally think in terms of fear. I am afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone is not actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds and drains our motivation.
If you are caught up in fear based thinking, the first step is focussing that energy on a well defined goal. By defining a goal, you automatically define a set of actions. If you have a fear of poverty, create a plan to increase your income. It could be going back to school, obtaining a higher paying job, or developing a profitable website. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps.
By focussing your mind on a positive goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future you start to do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action. When know what you want, you become motivated to take action.
The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because without an obvious next action we succumb to procastrination. An example of this is a person who wants to have a popular blog, but who spends more time reading posts about blogging than actually writing articles.
The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that pay off and those that don't. Make a list of all your activities and arrange them based on results. Then make an action plan that focusses on the activities that lead to bid returns. Keeping track of your most important tasks will direct your energy towards success. Without a constant reminder, it is easy to waste entire days on filler activities like reading magazines, watching TV or checking your email or random web surfing.
When your motivation starts to wane, regain direction by creating a plan that contains two positive actions. The first one should be a small task you have been meaning to do, while the second should be a long-term goal. Then immediately do the smaller task. This creates a positive momentum. After that take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal. Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement and getting long-term plans moving. It is inevitable that you will encounter periods of low energy, bad luck, and even the occasional failure. If you don't discipline your mind, these minor speed bumps can turn into mental monsters. By being on guard against the top three motivation killers you can preserve your motivation and propel yourself to success.
Demotivating factors:
In his book 'You can win' Shiv Khera lists the following as demotivating factors:
- Unfair criticism: Human beings will make mistakes which need to be corrected and most importantly, which can serve as lessons for the future. No one minds being given advice for improvement if it is done privately and as guidance rather than as blame. Before criticising someone, it should be ensured that the person was actually at fault and is not a victim of circumstance. Unfair criticism can demotivate even the most highly motivated person.
- Negative criticism: Negative criticism is where a person is told about what wrongs he has done, instead of what he ought to have done. Telling a person that he has erred is not wrong by itself but if the criticism is seen to be aimed at belittling a person it will have the reverse effect and will lead to demotivation.
- Public humiliation: It is a common saying that a person should be praised publicly and criticised privately. Often when someone does something wrong, their mistakes are pointed out in public. This will cause the person to feel humiliated and will certainly demotivate him or her.
- Rewarding the non-performers: It is often seen in organisations that some people pretend to be doing all the work and actually contribute next to nothing to the organisation. People who do the real work are not interested in showing that they are the real contributors. Those in-charge should be careful that the non-performers are not awarded as such an action will lead to demotivating the performers.
- Failure or the fear of failure: Failure to achieve even a minor success can act as a demotivator resulting in the person not even trying to repeat the action; and as has been amply stressed earlier, the fear of failure prevents people from making even a start.
- Success: Yes, the achievement of success can also act as a demotivating factor as it can lead to a sense of complacency, resulting in a person not developing any more of his or her energies towards the task.
- Lack of direction: Nothing can be more demotivating than a lack of direction. If you do not know where you are going you are like a rudderless ship. Knowing where we are at any moment in our journey towards our goal gives us confidence. Without confidence we will have little motivation to continue our efforts.
- Lack of measurable objectives: Whether we are progressing towards our goal or not can only be measured by breaking down the larger goal into smaller objectives on the achievement of which we can confidently say that we have indeed progressed. If this step has not been taken, it will be difficult to see what progress, if any has been made. It would become like chasing a rainbow or trying to reach the horizon. The closer you get, the farther it seems. What a demotivation it is to find that your goal is forever receding and out of reach.
- Low self-esteem: We have seen that one of the intrinsic motivators is high self-esteem. Low self-esteem makes one feel under-confident and incapable of achieving success. Such feelings act as demotivators and prevent people from trying.
- Lack of priorities: Every day we have many tasks to undertake, some important and some urgent and time being a very limited commodity, most people spend a major portion of their available time on doing what is urgent at the utter neglect of the important ones. We need to prioritise which tasks should be taken up first and which later. If the important tasks are not taken up, there will be little progress made towards achieving our goal the result will be a sense of despair leading to demotivation.
- Negative self-talk: We talk to ourselves all the time and if this task is negative, it leads to a feeling of worthlessness once again demotivating us and resulting in our giving up all effort towards accomplishment of our chosen goal.
- Office politics: People in an office often indulge in activities which are aimed at showing them bigger than they are, at the expense of their more competent colleagues. Such feelings result from jealousy and resentment when others are doing better than them. Instead of trying to improve their own performance, such people try to cause harm to others. The result is the organisation developing an unfair bias in favour of the less capable person and bestowing upon him or her rewards which ought to have gone to the better person. Such an inclination on the part of the organisation leads to demotivating the high performers in the organisaton.
- Unfair treatment: If the higher echelons of an organisation are not careful is their assessment of performance, sycophancy can win the day. The top executives must resist the temptation to fall in the trap of the 'yes' men. Obviously, in an organisation with a hierarchical structure with limited space at the top, the good performers will be unfairly left beehind, thereby demotivating them.
- Hypocrisy: Hypocrites are those who say what they don't mean or pretend to be what they are not. If the bossess of an organisation keep making promises they never intend to keep, discerning subordinates lose motivation to work.
- Poor standards: High standards act as motivators for people to put in their best to achieve ever higher goals. By the same token, an organisation that sets poor standards of performance for itself, will demotivate the good performers and maybe result in their looking elsewhere at a more challenging opportunity.
- Frequent change: It takes time for people to learn all about their assignment and begin to give of their best. If their tasks are changed or their job content is varied too often, they can be demotivated and prevented from doing their best.
- Responsibility without authority: If a person is told that he is responsible for a particular job, he would need some authority as well to enable him to take decisions with regard to the task without having to frequently consult his superiors. This will hinder progress and demotivate the person.
Take care to remove the demotivators and concentrate on the motivating factors and you will be well on your way to success.
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SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem is neither a new word nor a new concept. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the word 'self-esteem' in English as far back as 1657. It is defined by Webster's dictionary as: belief in oneself; self respect. This meaning can be expanded to include terms like self-confidence andd pride. Self-esteem is the combination of self-confidence and self-respect; the conviction that you are competent to cope with life's challenges and are worthy of happiness. In simple terms, 'self-esteem ' is the way you talk to yourself about yourself. Self-esteem is neither a new word nor a new concept. The Oxford English Dictonary traces the use of the word 'self-esteem' in English as far back as 1657. It is defined by Webster's dictionary as : belief in oneself; self-respect. This meaning can be expanded to include terms like self-confidence and pride. Self-esteem is the combination of self-confidence and self-respect; the conviction that you are competent to cope with life's challenges and are worthy of happiness. In simple erms, 'Self-esteem' is the way you talk to yourself about yourself.
Self-esteem has two inter-related aspects; it entails a sense of personal efficacy and a sense of personal worth. It is the integrated sum of self-confidence and self-respect. It is the conviction that one is competent to live and is worthy of living.
Our self-esteem and self-image are developed by how we talk to ourselves. How we talk to ourselves is shaped by our experiences and memories. All of us have conscious and unconscious memories of all the times we felt bad or wrong - they are part of the unavoidable scars of childhood. These memories define how our self-esteem gets developed. Also known as self-worth, self-regard or self-respect, self-esteem is the reflection of any person's overall self-appraisal of his or her own worth and is reflected in the individual behaviour. Many psychologists regard self-esteem as a continuing personality characteristic. They aalso believe that it may not remain constant and normal changes may occur. At times, self-esteem is also believed to include one's beliefs and emotions.
Definitions of self-esteem:
The term self-esteem has been defined in different ways at different times depending on the approach taken. According to Wikipaedia, the term self-esteem has three major types of definitions:
The original definition presents self-esteem as a ratio found by dividing one's successes by the failures.
In the mid 1960's Morris Rosenberg and social sense of personal worth or worthiness, measurable by self-report testing (the Rosenberg self-esteem scale became the most frequently used definition for research).
Nathaniel Brandon in 1969 briefly defined self-esteem as "...the experience of being cometent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness".
In his detailed description of self-esteem, Brandon points out certain primary propeties associated with it. These properties are as follows:
Self-esteem is described as a basic human need, that is, it makes an essential contribution to the life process. It is considered indispensable to normal and healthy self-development and has a value for survival.
Self-esteem is described as an automatic and inevitable consequence of the sum of an individual's choices in using his or her consciousness.
Self-esteem is something that is experienced as a part of, or background to, all of the individual's thoughts, feelings and actions.
SYMPTOMS:
The self-esteem of a person manifests itself in the form o certain characteristics which indicate the level of his or her self-esteem. Some of these are explained below:
- Confidence: A person with high self-esteem is generally very confident. This can be observed by the body language of that person, the way he talks and handles himself and even the gestures he makes. He would never feel insecure and will take on challenges easily.
- Motivation: A person with high self-esteem is generally seen to have a very high level of motivation. Such a person would perform well not only in his career but also in all other spheres of life. This person may take life as a challenge and not get discouraged easily.
- Ambition: A person with self respect is also seen to be ambitious. He or she sets goals and achieves them successfully. People with high self-esteem tend to be more ambitious in what they hope to experience in life emotionally, romantically, intellectually, creatively and spiritually. They have a strong drive to express the self, reflecting the sense of richness within.
- Adaptability: A person with self-esteem is highly adaptable and is seen to settle in and adjust to any type of environment or people quickly.
- Success: The above mentioned characteristics are found in a greater degree among people with high self-esteem. Since these are also the same factors which make an individual successful, it can be derived that people with high self-esteem are also highly successful.
- Respect for others; An individual who respects himself greatly respects others. Therefore, a person with self-esteem would never disregard others and think them to be inferior.
- Enthusiasm: Self-esteem in a person makes him or her enthusiastic and positive minded.
- Honesty:People with self-esteem are honest to themselves and also to others. Their convistion in themselves gives them the inherent strength to follow and abide by principles.
- Character: Integrity, genuineness, strength in your decision making, honour, living by an upright set of principles are all symptoms of an individual who has high self-esteem. When you own these inner characteristics on all levels, you and everyone around you will know it, absolutely.
- Optimism: A person with high self-esteem is inherently optimist and lives as if each day is a gift. His or her mind is open to benefits of achievement and realistically believes that things will work out.
- Accomplishment orientation: A conscientious, hard working person, who does his or her share and takes care to do things right, also has a tendency to seek out and take advantage of available opportunities. The more things that a person is good at, the more challenging goals he can achieve, the more opportunities he seeks. Such an individual feels good aabout himself or herself and always has high self-esteem.
- Joy: As a person with high self-esteem you will repetitiously hear that you take extreme pleasure in your accomplishments, that you feel a deep sense of peace in doing your best in all situations, that your successes motivates you to keep going, that you are comfortable with being recognised for what you achieve in life. You will be immersed in the belief that you are happy to be alive, that you live with enthusiasm and that you are adventurous.
- Mistakes, setbacks, challenges and 'problems': People with high self-esteem do not allow mistakes and setbacks to phase them out, rather they shrink them down, learn from each one and go forward undeterred even more determined and more skillful than before. They don't judge themselves by impossible standards. They just do their best, and happily live even as imperfect beings. As a person attains self-esteem he or she is also getting programmed to instinctively see problems and challenges as opportunities to learn, grow and get ahead.
- Friendships and Relationships: People with high self-esteem believe themselves to be worthy of having great relationships and to be valuable friends to other people. They tend to support other people and feel comfortable with all kinds of people.
- Goal-oriented: Individuals with high self-esteem seek the challenge and stimulation of worthwhile and demanding goals. Attaining such goals nurtures high self-esteem.
- Loving: Vitality and expansiveness in others are naturally more appealing to persons with good self-esteem than are emptiness and dependency since these are the virtues they cherish. As a result, they form nourishing relationships instead of toxic ones.
ADVANTAGES: Self-esteem is crucial and is the foundation of a positive attitude towards living. It is very important because it affects how an individual thinks, acts and even how he or she relates to other people. It affects one's potential to be successful. Self-esteem is a major key to success in life. The development of a positive self-concept or healthy self-esteem is extremely important to the happiness and success of children and teenagers and later as adults.
