Need to Get Fired Up? Try Motivation Quotes

As part of her discussion on motivation in her social psychology class, Ms. Walters asked each of her students to write down their favorite motivation quotes on a large cardboard. The students then propped the motivation quote posters on the board and were asked to jot down at least ten of the motivation quotes on a small sheet of paper to be handed out to their loved ones. Here is what one students picks were:

• When you know what you want, and you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way to get it. –Jim Rohn

• I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. –Mikhail Baryshnikov

• Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. –Brian Littrell

• Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. –Winston Churchill

• You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. –Rabindranath Tagore

• Failure is not an option.

• If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. –Nora Roberts

• Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

• To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities. –Bruce Lee

• Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking. –William B. Sprague

Though only a few examples of motivation quotes, these words when inculcated in the heart and mind, and lived with passion and conviction, can undoubtedly get us far. But remember that motivational quotes are just tools to move us to action. And just like a hammer, our choice to use it properly to achieve our goals will make all the difference. For without action, there is no accomplishment.

Which are some of your favorite inspirational quotes?

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Can Motivational Thoughts Help When Motivation Flies out the Window?

Danielle is gifted with artistic hands that could put Picasso and Da Vinci at bay. Her paintings are full of life and are all original masterpieces. Ever since she was a child, Danielle has always dreamed of becoming a painter and owning an art studio – a dream that was far from the law firm that her family ran.

Today Danielle is a zombie working for her family’s law firm. Although she has good job performance, she just couldn’t put her heart and soul in it. She took up law after college because her father encouraged her to take a more ‘sensible’ path. The field demanded much of her time that she stopped painting, stopped practicing her art and stopped living her dream.

As Danielle’s best friend, I couldn’t bear to see her watch her life pass her by. I knew that I had to do something. I had to remind her of how different she was before. Then, she was teeming with life and pulsating with motivation. Now, she is as animated as a brick. I had to motivate her once more. While cooking up ideas on how to help Danielle, I remembered that Montaigne once said ‘The pleasant things in the world are pleasant thoughts: and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.’ So I bought my friend a book compilation on motivational thoughts.

Here are some examples of the motivational thoughts contained in the book:

• It’s YOUR Life, Live BIG – Josh Hind. If you want to eventually succeed, you need to do things that would move you closer to it. You just can’t dilly-dally and drag your feet around. However, if your dream is consists entirely of watching TV for hours on end, then by all means, drag your feet as much as you can.

• There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs. You’re a service company with a single employee! Being in autopilot will lead you no where near success. Who is responsible for your success? Look in the mirror. Don’t settle on being a follower—be a lifelong learner and leader.

• In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity – Albert Einstein. Tomas Alva Edison made 10, 000 wrong choices in the process of making the incandescent bulb. His only reply was that he now knew ten thousand ways by which it cannot be done.

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What is the Role of Brain Function in Motivation?

If there is one course that could cure my insomnia, it’s Physiology. Aside from the fact that I couldn’t grasp the topics, my professor has a voice that could put anyone to sleep. Once he starts talking, my mind drifts off to more interesting things such as clothes, parties and boys. One dreadful morning, the class discussion was about the nervous system, particularly the brain. I was nodding off when my professor mentioned the role of brain function in motivation. I immediately snapped out of my drowsiness and said to myself “Finally! A topic I could relate to!”

Here’s what my professor said about the role of brain function in motivation:

• The neurotransmitter dopamine has an impact on shifting minds through motivation. Motivation that exists through reward systems is the primary concern of dopamine as its release is increased when a reward is expected and is decreased when a reward is withheld. The incentive salience (wanting) hypothesis of dopamine states that when a stimulus worth working for is present in the environment, the brain releases dopamine. This in turn pushes the individual to work harder in order to get the reward.

• Serotonin, a neurotransmitter released by the Raphe nucleus which is located at the base of the brain, has a say in motivation. The axons of the Raphe nucleus extend to the nucleus accumbens, the brain area that is involved in the control of motivation to do certain behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse.

• The definitive locus of motivation is the anterior cingulated gyrus (part of the cortex and limbic system). It is speculated to be the seat of the will as it is located adjacent the motor cortex and is well situated within the frontal cortex and the limbic system.

• Motivation and attention are in the hands of the prefrontal cortex. Damage to the prefrontal cortex causes human behavior to be purposeless, chaotic, and impoverished despite in tact cognitive skills such as reading.

Yes, brain function and motivation do tango! The role of brain function in motivation simply tells us that sometimes physiology can be our destiny.

Motivation 101: What Do We Need To Know About Motivation?

There comes a time in everyone’s life that there is a need to perform unpleasant and daunting tasks for a reason or two–that kind of stuff hits me every once in a while. You know, having to tango with a colleague I don’t like, going to school on Mondays, washing the dishes, studying for exams. Stuff like this sucks every inch of motivation I have in me and, in the end, I feel frustrated, weary and even irritated. But you know what? I manage to go along—all thanks to a little bit of motivation 101.

If you’re a normal human being then sudden bouts of non-motivation will bother you. But fear not! Here’s a little crash course on motivation 101:

• Motivation is a drive that sets in motion behavior and gives this behavior direction. It is an internal condition that fuels the human being to act. Motivation is anchored in the most basic need to decrease physical pain and increase pleasure. Whereas a goal is something you strive to achieve, motivation is the fuel that powers the vehicle to get you there.

• Intrinsic motivation is motivation derived from rewards built-in to a task or activity itself. To be intrinsically motivated means doing an activity with no evident reward other than the activity itself.

• Extrinsic motivation is rooted outside the person—either to get a reward or to avoid punishment. This type of motivation can extinguish and replace inherent motivation. There must be a balance between intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators.

• The mind set can be a deciding factor in being motivated. A mindset filled with growth-inhibiting beliefs, prejudices and biases will hinder the person in pursuing his goals. Furthermore, the fear to move out of one’s comfort zone will make a person hard to motivate as he will blatantly refuse a new idea if it doesn’t fit his comfort zone.

• The level of motivation is dependent on grasping knowledge about possible obstacles ahead of time. By doing so, you can avoid them or, if not, focus your motivation when they are near.

There you have it—what you need to know about motivation from a crash course on Motivation 101. To stay motivated is a Herculean task. But, you see, it is not impossible. You can do something about that alleged elusive bachelor called motivation. Just do your homework in Motivation 101.

How Do You Nail Intrinsic Motivation?

Dale’s hobby of collecting toy race cars is nothing short of amazing. It’s a mystery how he manages to spend at least an hour a day polishing the nearly 300 models that he has. He cleans them as if he is bathing a baby and handles them with the care that a glass sculptor would give to his masterpiece. Dale is extremely devoted to his hobby so much that whenever he goes to the mall, his first stop would always be the toy store and he would stay glued to one section for hours – the vehicle section.

He loves toy race cars so much that he can differentiate one car from the other just by the mere mention of the model. What is even more amazing (and perhaps extravagant to most people) is how much Dale spends on his toy car collection. One time, Dale saved 80% of his weekly allowance just so he could buy the latest “Let’s Go” toy car model. Dale not only spends money on his collection, he invests even more time and effort in putting a toy car together! Mind you, he disassembles and assembles at least 2 cars each day to the point that he could assemble at least 50 of his toy cars with a blindfold!! Beat that!

When I asked Dale why he goes to such lengths for his toy cars, his reply was simple—he just loved toy cars.

A hobby such as toy car collection is a great exemplification of intrinsic motivation. According to Malone and Lepper, intrinsic motivation is basically “what people will do without external inducement”. In simple terms, it is motivation devoid of any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades. If you have intrinsic motivation, you do a task simply for the pleasure or satisfaction in doing and/or completing that task. However, it doesn’t mean that an individual will not seek rewards if he has intrinsic motivation. An intrinsically motivated person acknowledges the perk of rewards, but these rewards are not enough to keep that person motivated. In other words, with or without the reward, the person will continue to do the task, for as long as he has interest or believes in it.

If you can make someone align his values to yours, thus giving him an internal desire for the idea or value, you can set a very powerful motivation in the area. That is the power of intrinsic motivation. Plus, unlike extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation lasts longer because desires take time to be extinguished.

How do you increase intrinsic motivation? Here are a few things you should consider:

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