Human needs determine our attitudes, behavior and level of motivation for a given activity. Some needs are vital to our existence, while others are necessary for life satisfaction and fulfilment. The latter are those we struggle with most, but there's a logical and scientifically studied theory for why this is the case.

we won't always feel inclined to do a certain task, especially if it's something we don't enjoy

Motivation, or lack thereof, is a matter that affects us all. It's mysterious, fleeting and something we all desire at some point in relation to a particular task. But motivation is not a naturally occurring phenomenon depending on the task at hand, so we shouldn't experience feelings of guilt when a drop in motivation is human.

We complain about not having enough motivation and not being motivated to do a certain thing and have no idea how to increase it. Whilst there's no magic formula, the secret to motivation is accepting that we won't always feel inclined to do a certain task, especially if it's something we don't enjoy.

Motivated by needs

Each of us is motivated by two sets of inherent needs and one set of environmentally developed needs.

Needs that develop with us over our lives are the set of implicit needs, which concern power and achievement. As these needs are unique to each person and their experiences, we each experience some or all of them to varying degrees. They are also needs that, should they exist, generally do not suffer from a motivation deficit.

Biological or physiological needs garner the highest natural motivation whether we like it or not, because these needs are associated with survival. They include breathing, sleeping and eating.

The second set of inherent needs are psychological needs, which include self-direction or autonomy, relationships and connections, and finally, competence. Within this set of psychological needs we see an overarching division of motivation, being intrinsic and extrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation or behavior is fuelled by an external incentive or reward, which is why extrinsically motivated activities can also be helped by receiving or giving yourself some incentive or reward for doing such an activity.

Extrinsically motivated activities are not done for the pleasure they provide, but for something that will be received or generated which is external, such as money, an award, recognition, approval or to avoid something from happening (e.g. a fine).

An example that affects many of us is doing a job we aren't passionate about. Going to work to do that job is extrinsically motivated by the salary or approval of society or friends and family. Each day we grudgingly make our way to the office and never feel stimulated nor enthusiastic about our duties.

In the scenario above the incentive or reward is money and status, but there are times when we aren't conscious of the benefits and that's where recognition of such is necessary, or, in the absence of any apparent benefit, we must reward ourselves.

By rewarding ourselves or becoming conscious of the benefits or negative consequences, we find the motivation to do a task that might otherwise be tedious or unexciting, while gaining (a reward or incentive) or avoiding (e.g. being fired, jail) something.

As human beings we must come to terms with the fact that motivation isn't something we will naturally feel for every activity for the sake of the activity alone. There will be instances where we need to either ponder why something must be done or reward ourselves for getting something done.

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation might be the closest we get to the motivation we feel for satisfying biological needs. If we're intrinsically motivated it means we do something for the thing itself, for our own pleasure. That is, we enjoy the task because it's interesting, it provides a sense of accomplishment, we are fully attentive and engrossed in the activity and we are competent in it.

Rewards and incentives are a non-issue where intrinsically motivated tasks are concerned. As we do these activities for the activity itself, we don't think about nor require payment in any form. It's said that one can reach 'flow' (a concept by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) when we are highly engaged and optimally challenged by an intrinsically motivated activity. It enhances feelings of self-worth, self-actualization, well-being, satisfies our need for autonomy and may lead us to mastery of that activity or skill.

The danger in rewarding ourselves for extrinsic behavior is when we think we need to reward ourselves for intrinsic behavior, as numerous studies have shown rewarding intrinsically motivated activities results in a reduction of pleasure.

Inspiring motivation

Everyone experiences a lack of motivation for something all the time because we all have things we must do that we don't really want to or take little pleasure in. This sentiment is natural and requires only that we identify why we should do something whether we want to or not and failing that, give ourselves a reward or incentive to do it.