Motivation can be defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains behaviors aimed at achieving a goal or satisfying a need. It is the force that makes us act and allows us to move forward even in difficult situations. Going to get a glass of water when you are thirsty, studying all night to pass the driving test that you so desire or training hard to be the best in a championship, are possible thanks to it. However, just as the challenges and projects that we propose are very varied, the types of motivation from which our strength is born to achieve our goals are also varied.

Many psychologists have been interested in the study of motivation, as it is a basic principle in the behavior of human beings: no one moves without motivation, without a reason for it. Being motivated means carrying out daily tasks without being a heavy burden and keeps us alive. But not only that, motivation is related to other psychological variables, such as stress level, self-esteem, concentration, etc., and, as many studies have indicated, it has an effect on the health and well-being of all of us.

For this reason, there are many theories that speak of human motivation, including the aforementioned Maslow Pyramid, McClelland's three factors or Herzberg's dual factor theory. When studying motivation, different approaches have been developed that are applicable to different areas: work, sport, learning, etc. This has caused several authors to classify motivation with different names.

Sometimes the motivations are not entirely clear or we are not fully aware of them, this can become a long-term problem since it is not capable of self-directing the actions that are necessary to achieve a specific objective. Being clear about your motivations will make your path easier, in the sense that it gives you the possibility to make changes to redirect your energy if necessary.

When you have the purpose of maintaining healthy finances, for example, it is normal to feel discouraged when something goes wrong; like when his monthly income was not enough until the end of the month, despite having controlled his expenses. For this reason, it's important to have some 'hooks' to help keep you on track, without losing your bearings. An easy tool to implement is to resort to actions that give you a sense of accomplishment.

Whatever your motivation, the important thing is to keep it. Along the way, many situations may arise that discourage you and make you rethink the cost / benefit of your investment, for example. That's why it's so important to consider the hooks of small achievements and remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.

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