What is motivation?

Motivation is a desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal. Students who are motivated have a desire to undertake their study and complete the requirements of their course.

Are you a motivated student?

Being a motivated student doesn’t mean you are always excited or fully committed to your study, but it does mean you will complete the tasks set for you even when assignments or practicals are difficult, or seem uninteresting.

Positive and negative Motivation

Sometimes a distinction is made between positive and negative motivation. Positive motivation is a response which includes enjoyment and optimism about the tasks that you are involved in. Negative motivation involves undertaking tasks because there will be undesirable outcomes, eg. failing a subject, if tasks are not completed.

Almost all students will experience positive and negative motivation, as well as loss of motivation, at different times during their life at University.

What seems to work best for most people is to understand that both positive and negative motivation are useful, and that sometimes students will need to search for motivation.

Next Step: Go to What is loss of motivation?

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