Motivation: Function, Tasks, Role & Diseases

Motivation drives people to action and gives them the mental and emotional energy to carry out ideas. It is an integral part of human decision making and decision enforcement. Therefore, it also influences interpersonal interactions and the formation of larger groups of people.

What is motivation?

Motivation drives people to action and gives them the mental and emotional energy to carry out ideas. The term motivation contains two meanings. In a causal relationship with respect to human action, motivation stands for motive. These motives or motives together form the motivation for an act or attitude of mind. Moreover, the term motivation includes human emotional states such as incentive, drive, discipline, and zest for action. Motivation stands here for the degree of readiness for this or that action. This readiness arises from the mental and physical constitution and varies with regard to the previously mentioned parameters. Every action requires both a motive and an inner urge to perform it. The second correspondence of motivation, the urge to act, is absolutely necessary for human correspondence with the environment.

Function and task

Motivation is of elementary importance for human activity. Actions of people among themselves or in isolation always require some kind of drive to get going. Motivation is similar to thrust in kinetic motion. Without initial impulse, the object remains inert. It is the same with human actions. There must be a point of ignition in human thought, will or aspiration for the individual to follow up with an action. In this way, motivation pushes man and helps mental thought games to be executed. Accordingly, man depends on sufficient motivation to become active in the world. Whether life-sustaining drives such as hunger, thirst, urge to urinate or procreation can be counted as motivation is disputed. However, it seems certain that these necessary needs are deeply anchored in the psyche of humans and at least influence their motivation. Social or private processes can be started or continued via motivation. Human coexistence owes its functionality to a kind of collective motivation. The willingness of all to participate in the family, social or civil space is a basic prerequisite for the success of social associations. At the same time, social associations must ensure that the motivation of its members does not diminish. In this way, the individual contributes to the success of the social association. The social association, on the other hand, must keep the individual’s satisfaction and eagerness to work in mind. Accordingly, motivation is not only an individual condition. Human alliances, as a collective, can be equally motivated or unmotivated. Motives also evoke political or ideological attitudes. Acts, for example, may be politically “motivated.” Thus, private motivation transfers to a larger whole that is removed from the personal frame. Thus, motivation also determines public policy, as actors such as firms, political parties, or civic associations, as well as individuals, are guided by a motivation.

Diseases and ailments

In connection with motivation, some problems arise for people. Quite a few people suffer from listlessness because they have lost motivation for everyday life. Those who are unmotivated often have a drastic experience behind them. This not only inhibits the joy of life, but also the urge to do something. In such cases, it is important to process the experience and not to let oneself be pulled into a downward spiral. Other people have naturally lower levels of motivation, enthusiasm or concentration. They get bored quickly and don’t persevere with long-term pursuits. For this reason, people without motivation also find it difficult to cope in the working world. Concentration exercises can bring about an improvement in this condition. Lack of motivation can easily lead to depression, withdrawal and social isolation in the long run. Every act seems pointless. The person no longer goes outside the door and hardly develops any interest in his environment.Not least, the body suffers from the onset of equanimity. Unmotivated people do less sport, pay less attention to their diet and consider mental effort a waste of time. They gradually give in to neglect. After a certain point, the development is often irreversible. Accordingly, it is important to question oneself at an early stage and to fight the latent negative mood. Likewise, it is not healthy to be over-motivated. Over-motivated people are often under tension, want too much too fast and burden their fellow human beings with their restless basic mood. People who are over-motivated all too quickly lose track of the possible consequences of their actions. He acts prematurely without taking the consequences into account. The over-motivation of a participant often leads to situations that can escalate. Whether it is a matter of sporting competitions or interpersonal discussions, over-motivated individuals often tend to take drastic and disproportionate measures. This internal tension not only affects the relationship between the individual and his or her outside world. It also transfers to the physical constitution. Over-motivation, tension and restlessness can provoke devastating medical conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes. The body’s periodic hot spells disrupt blood circulation and the nervous system. This makes the body more susceptible to abrupt attacks in the heart and brain.