Intrinsic motivation

How Motivation Affects Your Health: Key Things To Know

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Motivation is something that provides us with the energy that we need to purse the results. We can gain this strength either from within us or from external sources. So, it can either be an extrinsic or an intrinsic motivation.

What is the extrinsic motivation?

It is a type, where we gain the inspiration from external sources. For instance, you get it from your friend or your family member. They might use their words to provoke you to perform something.

What is the intrinsic motivation?

As the name of this impetus very well defines, it is the one that arises from within you. For instance, if you are a self-motivated individual, you might feel from within that you should achieve something. It can be something related to your studies, your job or even your personal life.

Is motivation always good?

When we see the outline, the enthusiasm is good. It keeps us moving. In fact, without motivation, we cannot wake up every day to lead our life. We wake up just because we have the desire to live and this desire acts as a stimulus from within.
On the flip side, the provocation from within or from external sources can create a whole lot of stress. When it forms a tension to achieve, it is not good.

You know the effects of stress on the human body. Yes, the excessive pressure faced by people these days in their professional and personal life forces them to health issues. They get high blood pressure and diabetes at a very young age. Even, it takes to life-threatening conditions like heart failure, thereby risking the lives of individuals.

What are the ill-effects of motivation?

Ill-effects of intrinsic motivation

  • It can change the behavior
  • Needs a particular attention and lengthy preparation
  • A wide range of approaches might be required to feel self-motivated.

Ill-effects of extrinsic motivation

  • Provides distraction
  • Difficulty in identifying appropriate punishment and rewards
  • In-effective after a longer period
  • Once the external motivator removes the prize, the impulse goes away

Effect of motivation on Dopamine

Dopamine is a compound that is present in the body as a neurotransmitter. It is a forerunner of other substances inclusive of adrenaline. Neurotransmitters are responsible for carrying chemical messages that play in the brain and have an effect on the other parts of the body. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in the science of motivation.

Effect of dopamine on the health

Low levels dopamine can lead to lack of motivation. So, naturally, the production of this neurotransmitter will increase if you are motivated. At high doses, it can correct low blood pressure because of low systemic vascular resistance. It is useful in treating hypotension, reduced perfusion of the body organ and low cardiac output.

If you are too much motivated, you will have a lot of stress in your mind to achieve the goal. When the dopamine instigates the release of stress hormones, the response can quickly turn into bad. When stressed, many changes will happen in your body. If you do not take adequate sleep at nights due to high-stress levels, it can, in turn, have an ill-effect on your overall health.

Stress can contribute to chronic inflammation, which, in turn, will affect your digestive system, endocrine system, cardiovascular system and also the skin. All these things can leave your body open to diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
Even, it can lead to psychological issues like permanent memory loss, sleep disturbances, depression, and difficulties with learning, attention-deficits, anger, agitation, and anxiety.

Conclusion:

As the famous adage goes “Too much of anything is good for nothing”. It holds true in the case of motivation too. So, you can stay motivated, but you should know how to relax yourself to prevent the stress building.

Author ~ Akshay Patni

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story.

intrinsic motivation

7 Qualities That Make Transformational Leaders So Inspiring

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Have you ever been a part of a group where someone takes charge efficiently, set out a clear vision, goal, and plan for the group, and is always motivating other members? If so, then you would know how pleasant it is to work with these kinds of people. They are what industrial psychologists call transformational leaders.

James McGregor Burns first wrote about this style of leadership in his 1978 book called “Leadership”. The concept he introduced was further explored and developed by Bernard M. Bass in his Transformational Leadership Theory.

Transformational leadership style is considered the best out of all the different leadership styles

Throughout history, leaders all over the world who have adopted this method have been not only successful in achieving their goals. Thus, they have been widely loved by the public or members of their own team. Transformational leadership is the complete opposite of transactional leadership.

The 44th US President Barack Obama and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are perfect examples of transformational leaders. They tick almost, if not all the boxes. Obama was and is still loved by the people of America. He was charismatic, inspiring, encouraging, and accepting. His election campaign alone that focused on “change” was indicative of transformational leadership, where positive change was always embraced.

Mark Zuckerberg is no stranger to public admiration. He is said to cultivate a healthy, open, and positive work culture within his company. Employees are always energized and motivated by him, and they are encouraged to share their feelings, and what troubles them.

Characteristics of a transformational leader

The above is a glimpse into what being a transformational leader is like. Here, we offer a more comprehensive and detailed analysis of the qualities that make transformational leaders so inspiring.

1. Transformational leaders encourage creativity and independent thinking

As opposed to transactional leaders, transformational leaders support and encourage thinking out of the box and being creative. They are accepting of new ideas not only from themselves but also from their followers. These people understand the importance of teamwork to be successful.

They constantly encourage and motivate their followers to think creatively and come up with new ideas, and even implement these ideas while making decisions. This involvement from the followers boosts their confidence and happiness, which in turn leads to more productivity.

2. Transformational leaders understand followers on a personal level

Transformational leaders make efforts to get to know their followers personally. They aim to lend their support and encouragement to their needs and causes. They even encourage a relationship that goes beyond a professional one within their company.

This way, all members can really get to know each other, feeling towards each other will be reduced, and a culture that is healthy and open is cultivated. It makes it easier for members to approach their followers with new ideas and suggestions. The leader, in turn, gives each member the recognition they deserve.

3. Transformational leaders are confident and self-reliant

Transformational leaders trust themselves and are self-reliant. Usually, they don’t need guidance and direction from other people, but they are always open to suggestions. Leaders are confident enough to take risks that they believe will benefit the group and trust themselves to make well-informed decisions in difficult situations.

They do not let others’ perceptions of them get in the way of achieving the goals and vision of the group, which is in alignment with their own goals. Leaders are motivated intrinsically, and this internal motivation is passed on to their followers as well.

4. Transformational leaders have a clear and realistic vision

Transformational leaders guide and lead a group with a clear, realistic, and achievable vision in mind. This vision is also shared by all members of the group, and they work hard to make sure it is achieved.

As transformational leaders are extremely passionate and motivated, they help their followers to brew up the same amount of enthusiasm and commitment so that they may all work together in tune to fulfill their collective goals.

5. Transformational leaders bring about positive change

Leaders have the charisma to inspire and bring about positive changes within their organization as well as within their followers. Most followers gain a new sense of purpose if led in the right direction.

Transformational leaders are always open to new ideas and independent thinking. They are also open to embracing a positive change that will benefit the group and aid them in achieving their goals. Transformational leaders highly benefit from the absence of a strict and rigid structure and culture.

6. Transformational leaders are role models

Given the numerous positive qualities of transformational leaders, it is no surprise that followers look up to them and they serve as people’s role models. It makes it even more important that they have strong values and morals as people tend to emulate them.

Followers highly respect and place their trust in transformational leaders. This makes it easy for them to internalize and accept their ideas and vision.

7. Transformational leaders get into action

People are no strangers to empty promises made by leaders. But what makes transformational leaders stand out is that they are an embodiment of the saying “Action speaks louder than words”.

They make promises to their followers, and they give their all to make sure that they keep these promises. Transformational leaders follow through on their words, which makes it easier for followers to place their trust in these kinds of leaders.

Author’s Bio

Gaurav Rajput is a passionate blogger and loves to write about several topics like Health & Fitness, Home décor, Technology, and many more niches. He always loves to share his blogger resources.

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story.

transformational leaders

Top 5 Reasons Why Doing What You Love Makes Great Work

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You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning and for a moment you’re floating in a haze of well-being, only to have it torn apart by the realization that you have to go to work soon? I do. Those moments were horrible. It wasn’t always there. Some days were better than others, but it was there often enough to be a serious bummer. After all, that shouldn’t be the way to start your day. Doing what you love will help you have better mornings.

The thing is, it turns out I’m not the only person who feels that way. In fact, less than half of Americans are happy at their work. That might not be so bad as in 2010 when only 40% of people liked their job, but that doesn’t change the facts. The vast majority would experience more mental wellbeing doing something else, doing something they love.

And the thing is, that would be great for employers too. After all,

1. A happy employee is a more productive employee

Research has shown that happy employees are on average 12% more productive than their less happy counterparts. What’s more, they’re more protected from stress and illness, they’re less likely to experience negative emotions, they live longer, they take less sick days and they’re much less likely to leave for another company. In other words, there are nothing but benefits. And yet so few employers are really doing anything with this information.

Well if they aren’t, then we’re going to do it ourselves! The first step for finding the best job is writing the stunning CV (you can check some top websites for help). So, let’s look at some of the best reasons why you should think about finding work that you love. The best reason has to be:

2. Flow

Flow is wonderful. It’s a mental state where everything – your problems, your to-do list, your itches, your cold feet – for a time falls away as you lose yourself in what you’re doing. It leads to positive emotions as well as an experience of wellbeing. It also makes you far more productive, as you bend yourself to the task at hand and let nothing distract you.

The thing is, Flow is not something that is just achieved one, two, three. You need to actually be completely engaged in the activity to have it. And the only way that that can happen is if you actually truly enjoy doing it. Even then, you’ve got to practice, so that you have enough confidence that the doubt monster doesn’t pull you back to the surface. For that reason, it’s vital to try to find work that’s more engaging so that you don’t only get to experience this in your free time.

Then there’s:

3. Intrinsic Motivation

In psychology, they talk about two kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic means that it comes from inside of you, so, for example, you are motivated to do the Sudoku puzzle because it interests you and when you finish it you feel satisfied and don’t expect any other kind of reward. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is external. This is money, praise or anything similar.

The research has shown that when your primary motivation is external, you’re far less likely to enjoy what you’re doing. In fact, often the simple act of giving somebody an extrinsic reward will make them enjoy the task less and will generally not get them perform better at it either.

The only counter agent against that is if they love what they do. Then chances are good that they will continue to love it, despite the introduction of extrinsic rewards such as money. In other words, they continue to be motivated by the act itself, instead of seeing it as a means to an end as jobs are for most of us.

And that’s important because:

4. If you love what you’ll do you’ll keep doing it

And that’s a vital part of what makes doing what you love so important. Even in the down times, you’ll still gain satisfaction from it – heck, you’d do it for free if you had to. That means two things. First of all, it means that instead of your work dragging you further down on your bad days, it lifts you up. It acts as a high point in your day rather than something that you need to recover from.

Secondly, it means that you’re going to put in the hours to make certain that whatever you’re working on is going to be at the top of its game. And that is how you get noticed and make a splash. As nothing impresses quite as much as something that’s perfect.

Except, maybe, for something made with:

5. Real Passion

I don’t know what it is about real passion, but you can see it in an end product. If you visit a restaurant where the cook cares about what they’re doing, the food somehow has something that an uncaring cook will never have. You can see it in everything – words on a page, paint on a canvas, even in the bricks in a wall.

And wouldn’t the world be so much more beautiful if everything around you was filled with the passion of the people that created it? It certainly would feel us with more passion if we get to look at what we do and be proud of it.

Conclusion

We’ve got to do what we love! Because if we’re doing it for money then where does the joy come in? After all, beyond a certain limit where we can put food on the table and meet our friends at a café, money doesn’t really change how happy we are. In fact, I suspect most people buy all the stuff they do in part because they’re trying to fill the hole left in their lives because they’re not engaged with what they’re doing. But you can’t fill the absence of meaning in your life with a new coach or a new phone. You can only fill it by finding meaning. And that means doing something we love.

So what are we all waiting for?

PS: Please leave a comment below and tell me if you are doing what you love at work or how do you plan to do what you love?

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5 Reasons Why Doing What You Love Is the Only Way to Do Great Work