40+FAB Blog

Motivation-reward cycle

Motivation is a bit of a difficult thing to predict in an individual. What we feel motivates one person may not at all move another person. People can be motivated by compulsion where they do things in order to avoid negative outcomes like punishment, or the peer pressure of being left out of the group. We can also be motivated by volition where we are inspired to do something we want to do that captures our interest.

Whichever way we are motivated, there seems to be a motivation-reward cycle. The spark of motivation usually kicks in when we see someone else produce a result or avoid a consequence by what they do. This drives us to learn what they have done so we can get similar results.

As we go through the process, we either become discouraged when we don’t see the same results or we are more encouraged when the rewards start to come through. It is important that we study the techniques of those that have produced genuine results, and then apply the principles that they have, so we can produce our own results. This will keep us motivated and in time producing more and more results.