Every day, people set goals and attempt to accomplish them. Whether the goal is large or small, they invest their time, energy, and resources in reaching that goal even when doing so can be difficult. This is a common trait of human behavior and action because of the root cause of its existence: motivation. All people feel motivation at some point in their lives. While people often understand motivation to drive their more complex and long-term behaviors and decisions, the fact of the matter is that motivation is a part of the daily existence of human beings and human behavior. Discussed in this paper is the definition of motivation, sources of motivation, and the various points of correlation between motivation and behavior.

Motivation is simplistically defined as the process that drives goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes people to get up and act. As previously mentioned, the actions that motivation drive need not be rooted in grandeur as some may assume. For example, motivation is at the foundation of a person going to get a drink when they are thirsty in the same manner that it is at the foundation of the rigorous training of a gymnast who wants to compete in the Olympics one day. Motivation can be broken down into three parts, which are activation, persistence, and intensity. The activation component describes when a person first decides to engage in a behavior. Following activation is persistence, which is when a person continues to put forth effort toward their goal even when faced with obstacles. Lastly, intensity is the concentration that one puts into pursing a goal. There are many theories that exist to explain motivation and they all vary from one another in some manner or another therefore adding to the overall knowledge of the subject. What is understood about motivation is that it involves emotional, biological, cognitive, and social forces that all play a role in activating behavior.

Many things can motivate a person. What is successful as serving as a source of motivation depends on the person, the goal, and what the person deems to be important. Generally speaking, motivation can be broken up into two categories: extrinsic and intrinsic sources of motivation. Extrinsic sources of motivation are the kind of sources that come from outside of a person. Examples of intrinsic sources of motivation are money, praise, and social recognition. Extrinsic sources of motivation are very common amongst human beings. This may be due to the natural competitive nature that people have to be better than others are and for the need of the fact that they are better than others to be known. Intrinsic sources of motivation are the direct opposite of those of the extrinsic variety. Intrinsic sources of motivation come from within a person. The may be associated with biological needs such as satisfying hunger, or may be linked to aspects of self-perception, pride, or personal gratification. While extrinsic sources of motivation come from the environment (people and things around a person); intrinsic sources of motivation come from within a person (fulfillment of biological and personal emotional gratification).

There is a very distinct relationship between motivation and behavior. As previously mentioned, motivation is what moves people to action. Human behavior is not spontaneous. Instead, behavior occurs because of an intrinsic or extrinsic motivational incentive. These incentives or sources push and pull a person’s behavior is a certain way. This means that the behavior that a person exhibits is the result of that person’s perceived need, which motivates that person to satisfy that need. People are driven to fulfill motivations. Motivations are fulfilled by engaging in behaviors that are aligned with accomplishing their goals. Motivation is about fulfilling a goal. The behavior that a person exhibits is the means by which goals are accomplished.

Behavior exhibits motivation because behaviors are driven by motivation. The relationship, as previously mentioned, is that of a “push and pull”. Behavior can be seen as the culmination of motivation acted out. For example, the behavior of eating exhibits the need to fulfill the motivational desire to satisfy hunger. The behavior of reading a book exhibits the need to fulfill the motivational desire to acquire knowledge. The behavior of drinking water exhibits the need to fulfill the motivational desire to satisfy thirst. Behavior exhibits motivation because motivation is the reason for the behavior.

In conclusion, motivation plays a key role in human behavior. It is the drive that pushes people to act to meet their perceived needs. Although many people associate motivation with the foundation of the desire to accomplish large goals, the fact of the matter is that motivation is actually a part of every human behavior, no matter how large or small. People derive motivation from extrinsic and intrinsic sources. Extrinsic sources of motivation are sources that come from around a person while intrinsic sources come from within them. Motivation is goal-oriented and the relationship between motivation and behavior is one that reflects “push and pull” characteristics. Without motivation, human beings would not be driven toward accomplishment. This is even true with regard to the accomplishment of fulfilling biological needs like satisfying hunger and thirst. At the foundation of every action is motivation, which is why the study of motivation and the knowledge that has been acquired because of the study of the subject is so important to the field of psychology.