What motivates us during life

Dif f erent t hings mot ivat e dif f erent people. In t his art icle we will explore what
can mot ivat e us as individuals and we will st art by examining t he priorit ies of
dif f erent lif e st ages which heavily can inf luence each of us.

Motivation at different life stages

Hope
Our lif e in t he out side world st art s, of course, when we are born a rude
awakening f rom t he warmt h, comf ort and securit y of t he womb t o t he harsh
clinical realit ies of a hospit al room. Babies are ut t erly helpless and need t o be
looked af t er, needing f ood, comf ort , warmt h and all t he ot her t hings f rom t he
lower end of Maslows hierarchy of needs.
T he baby depends upon mot her and f at her f or everyt hing and at least in a
loving and caring f amily all t hose needs are met : f ood, warmt h and love.

At some st age however t he baby,

perhaps around 18 mont hs, when he or she begins t o become aware t hat t hey
are separat e individuals f rom t heir parent s, begins t o realise t hat t hey need
t he care of t hese adult s and wit hout t hem t hey cannot survive. T here is a
bat t le bet ween want ing t o develop t heir independence whilst also being
anxious not t o jeopardise t he relat ionship as t hey need t o ensure t heir saf et y
cont inues. T he original uncondit ional love f or t he baby begins t o have
condit ions at t ached around t heir behaviour.
Exploration
T he priorit ies as a child are t o learn and explore and t o develop increasing
independence, t est ing it out whilst always ensuring t hat t he parent s are st ill
t here and support ive. Some of t he t hings t hat t he child learns are how t o
behave, what t o believe and what makes mum and dad happy and unhappy.
T he nat ural inst inct s slowly st art t o become modif ied t o f it t he accept able
paramet ers.
T he desire t o please, t o become accept ed by ot hers, by modif ying inst inct ive
behaviour becomes set down in early lif e and dominat es mot ivat ion f or some
t ime t o come. In childhood years t his may be about pleasing parent s by being

a good boy or good girl, working hard in school and st icking t o t he rules.
Uncertainty
Emerging as t eenagers, t here is a huge change physically and emot ionally and
an increasing need t o f eel independent and a desire t o f ind an ident it y. T he
need f or accept ance becomes more about accept ance by peers and f riends,
rat her t han parent s. Yet t here is a t ension bet ween accept ance by t he group
on t he one hand and f inding a separat e ident it y on t he ot her. It is st riking what
t eenagers choose t o wear and what music t hey list en t o, t here is some
individualit y in t ast e, but also a great deal of conf ormit y. So clot hes are
usually jeans and a t -shirt wit h what ever variat ion t he f ashion indust ry is
driving at t he t ime and music t ast e is popular music rat her t han classical, jazz
or anyt hing else t hat is not mainst ream.
Establishment
At t he end of f ormal educat ion, t he 20s and 30s are dominat ed by
est ablishing ourselves as independent f rom our parent s and acquiring all t hat
we need f or adult lif e. T his includes moving out of t he f amily home if t hat s
af f ordable, f inding a way of earning a living, f inding a part ner t o share lif e wit h,
maybe locat ing t o a new area and f inding new f riends. Having children is also a
priorit y, alt hough increasingly t his is def erred so t hat people can est ablish
t hemselves in t heir careers.
T his involves ensuring t hat t he employee is accept ed now by colleagues and
bosses, rat her t han just parent s and f riends. A new set of expect at ions arrive
and a new level of condit ioning is acquired, as t he employee progresses at
work, get t ing promot ions and new jobs along t he way. In our hect ic pressurised
societ y, t he work part of our lives can dominat e all ot hers.
T here comes a point where all t he lower levels of Maslows hierarchy are
basically sort ed. Consider t he f amily wit h t wo young children, where bot h
parent s work, living in t heir own home wit h cars, holidays and all t hat goes wit h
an af f luent middle class West ern lif est yle.
Broadening
T he next st age is when all t hese init ial goals and needs have been f ulf illed
t he career, t he house, t he spouse, t he kids all acquired. At some point in
mid-lif e t here may be a change in out look, perhaps t riggered by a signif icant
birt hday, a quest ioning about t he job or career, a relat ionship breakdown or
redundancy f or example. All of t hese could t rigger deep ref lect ion, a
broadening of out look and a desire f or more meaning or maybe a new
direct ion. It is what is of t en described as a mid-lif e crisis, alt hough it does
not need t o be a crisis or a single event .
Reflection
T he next lif e st age is older age, probably linked t o ret irement . T he priorit ies of
lif e may change again and usually work plays less of a part , a new purpose
and meaning may be needed.

Read more at:

http://dor.academy/en/what-motivates-us-during-life/