What or who motivates you?

Answer 1

Different drives motivate different people. Here are just some possibilities:

• Self-motivation - This is the best choice because you are doing something for yourself. However, many people find it hard to keep re-motivating their own actions toward a goal. Therefore, it is best to set short and small goals, say for 15 minutes to 30 minutes, then re-set the goal again and again. For example, it is easier to promise yourself to read an assigned chapter or to do exercises for 15 minutes, rather than saying "I'm going to do this for several hours". Then, you "reward" yourself once you complete 15 minutes and most importantly, you then make a new deal with yourself to complete another 15 minutes toward the goal. It also feels better to say "I completed 7 times toward my goal" versus a lower number of hours.
• Personal desire. Desire or wants is a powerful motivator, especially if a person learns to harness that power. For example, a teenager may want a car. The desire to own a car fuels the person to seek an after-school job, to show up for work, and to save money. But the desire must have a self-drive---a wish, a want, a need---that comes from within. It doesn't work as well if someone else tells you "You have to get a job, get out of bed, work, and save money." Personal motivation (above) and personal desires often go hand in hand.
• Someone else motivates you. This can be okay if it gives you support to do a task. But, if you can only say "I'm doing this for my parents (spouse, friend, pastor), you never own your own goal. The motivation is external when it should be internal.
• Inspiration motivates you. Role-models are great; we can aspire to be like someone. But inspiration from an outside source, especially a far-away person or someone we don't know personally, can be self-defeating. There's no accountability; that person can never say "You aren't measuring up!" So, the more distant the inspiration, the less effective it will be to motivate you to continue working toward a goal.
• Fear of lack of achievement, loss, loss of reputation (loss of face), fear of ridicule, or fear of punishment are reverse motivators. You keep working toward your goal while always looking over your shoulder to see who's watching, who's noticing, and who might negatively judge you. Fear and negative motivators can keep people churning or running toward a goal, but pride, self-fulfillment, satisfaction, etc. are often missing. Once again, the work is "for someone else" and is external, rather than "for myself" and internal. Because fear feels so awful, there's no joy in achieving. So while these negative forces can motivate a person for a short time, it can never help a person succeed in a bigger goal.

Note: If doesn't matter if someone says a parent(s), teacher, pastor, movie star, singer, author, politician, etc. is the source of motivation. Those are all external forces which cannot sustain a person's drive and motivation. Both of these must be found internally, however small the goal.

Answer 2

People can be motivated by a number of different things. Some people are motivated by their love for someone, others may be motivated by money, a good job, among other things.