The Psychology of Motivation: Understanding What Drives Us to Succeed

In this article, we will explore the psychology of motivation and try to understand what motivates us to succeed.

JLeclainche
4 min readApr 18, 2023
Photo by Dorin Seremet on Unsplash

Motivation is an elusive concept. We all want it, we all need it, but few of us truly understand what drives it. In this article, we will explore the psychology of motivation and try to understand what motivates us to succeed. We will look at different theories of motivation, share an inspiring story, and provide an exercise to help you tap into your own sources of motivation.

Theories of Motivation

There are several theories of motivation, each with its own perspective on what drives us to take action. Here are a few of the most popular ones:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

One of the most well-known theories of motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This theory suggests that we are motivated by a hierarchy of needs, starting with basic physiological needs like food and shelter, moving up to safety, love and belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization. According to Maslow, we must satisfy our lower level needs before we can move on to the higher level ones.

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