How The Brain Influences Motivation
Motivation is the characteristic that helps you achieve a goal
. It is the drive that pushes you to work hard and reach for what you want.
Motivation is the energy that gives you the strength to get up and keep going, even when things are not going how you expected.
The good news is that there are ways that we can cultivate motivation. The only thing we really need is a desire to change.
Often the hardest part is realizing that we need to change. So when we do, we need to work on ourselves, conquer our fears, and push ourselves forward to reach our desired destination.
Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic, also known as internal and external motivation. With extrinsic motivation, you are motivated by rewards from an external or outside source.
Intrinsic motivation is something internal that comes from within. If you have intrinsic motivation you are motivated to reach your goal because it is what you personally want and know is best.
Intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation, but many find intrinsic motivation hard to achieve. Once you get it, intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than the extrinsic.
Levels of motivation can go up and down. When you are down, it is important to work on yourself, by learning what is effective in motivating you. Otherwise you lose the purpose in your life and it can affect your mental and physical health.
There are many things that we can do to help motivate us. For each of us, they may include books, motivational movies, CDs, lectures, or many other forms of motivation.
One source of motivation that you may not necessarily think of is the brain. The brain plays an important role in motivating us.
The neurotransmitter dopamine, located within the brain, has an impact on shifting minds through motivation. Motivation that exists through reward systems is the primary concern of dopamine.
In reward systems dopamine fluctuates based on the outcome of an event. Dopamine is increased when a reward is expected and decreased when a reward is withheld.
The incentive and desire we have for dopamine tells us that when a stimuli worth working for is present, dopamine is released into the brain. This release of dopamine often is motivation enough to make an individual pursue harder to get that reward.
The neurotransmitter serotonin is released at the base of the brain at the raphe nucleus. Serotonin also effects motivation.
Serotonin has various functions, including the regulation of mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning. As you can see, serotonin has an effect on lots of things that can either motivate us or really allow us to lose our motivation.
The axons of the raphe nucleus extend to the nucleus accumbens. The nucleus accumbus is a collection of neurons within the striatum. This part of the brain is thought to play an important role in reward, laughter, pleasure, addiction, fear, and the placebo effect.
The definitive center for motivation control is the anterior cingulated gyrus. It functions as an integral part of the limbic system, which is involved in motivation with emotion formation and processing, learning, and memory.
Motivation and attention are in the hands of the prefrontal cortex. Damage to the prefrontal cortex causes human behavior to be purposeless, chaotic, and impoverished despite having some minimal cognitive skills.
As you can see, brain function and motivation are influenced by each other. This means that we have the power to snap out of our unmotivated mode simply by altering our brain functions.
Knowing this we should realize that it is important to keep our minds filled with motivating things. These would include a positive attitude, goals, and good thoughts.
A positive attitude will make all the difference in your motivation level. By thinking and seeing the world in a more positive light you will feel more energized and ready to take on the world.
Goals are important to have. Thinking about things you need to work on and then making a commitment to those goals is a great way to find motivation.
When you accomplish a goal you should reward yourself. This will help train your brain to really enjoy motivation and help you feel even more motivated in the future.
Good thoughts will keep your brain in good shape. As you have good thoughts more good thought will come into your mind, possibly motivating you to do more good. It is a great motivational cycle to fall into.
The role of the brain can play a key role in motivation. As you come to understand how your mind works you can better determine what motivates you.
by: Jack Landry
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