Women at work and their tips, challenges, advice, complaints, and experiences

We all know what we have to do, but getting the gumption to actually do it seems to be the problem.  A little something called motivation is what drives us to make decisions, to lose 10 pounds, to write that book.  According to a report from the National Institute of Mental Health, social scientists often look to psychologist Abraham Maslow's, Hierarchy of Needs, when examining the focuses that drive behavior.  These include, physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization.  Maslow then uses the needs and breaks them up into two categories which are deprivation motivation (pain and discomfort when someone is deprived of basic elements), and growth motivation (which allows people to expand horizons).

The report also looks at the views of psychologist Clayton Alderfer, who believes there are core needs that motivate us which include, existence (basic survival), relatedness (drive for social and personal relationships), and growth (desire for personal development).  Personally, I'm more with Alderfer because he recognizes people may be driven by two or three needs at the same time.  

We can look at all the studies in the world, but motivation comes down to the individual.  We all do things based on how badly we really want them.  I always tell my husband, I want to win the lottery, and he laughs and reminds me that in order to win, I have to buy a ticket, which I never do.  So how badly do I really want to win the lottery?

Motivation also means you have to take the steps, and commit to making changes.  Giving up old habits are very hard, but will the ends justify the means?  Motivation is in all of us, it's just brought out in different ways.   What motivates you?