Influencers, and Inspiration towards Motivation
Incentivization is common in a workplace. Aside from the monthly wage that workers receive, there are other small incentive that the employers provide to motivate people and boost their morale.
There are instances that whenever there’s an overtime – in order to complete a “rush” project – there’s a call to provide a quick incentive such as overflowing food/pizza at the pantry. This is to compensate the sudden rush work being provided. This may work so that our moods may somehow lifted up from the overtime.
However, regular incentivization may lose motivation for some people. Because of repetition, it loses its charm to the recipients. According to Kohn (1993), “Rewards do not create a lasting commitment. They merely, and temporarily, change what we do.” It happens most of the time in the work setup. If there’s a need to do overtime work for two consecutive weeks, even if there’s an incentive, it is no longer appealing. It can work for a few days but there will be a sudden decline of people rendering overtime, even if there’s an incentive, cash, and even extra pay on the monthly wage.
Maslow’s Idea of Self-Actualization has a similar take on Roger’s Self Actualization. Both agreed that it is the peak of oneself by being the best version of oneself. However, the difference maybe in how they view the approach. Maslow is more self-centered, while Rogers’ is more social-centered in a way that the Environment has a factor in achieving the said status (Grin, 2022).
I can say for myself that I can call myself an actualized individual if I feel that I am content and successful in my own definition of success, that is to have a stable career that I like to practice until the time I decide to retire, that I can contribute something to the society, help others in my own little way. With the characteristic of being independent (Cherry, 2019), and feeling fulfilled (McLeod, 2014) is one of the things that I would look for, to say that I am on that level.
There’s a huge impact to see someone we look up to, on our motivation to pursue something in life. This ignites our want to choose the same path as them. There’s this influence in them that makes us want to be like them, at most. They become our role models. For instance, there’s this one person I admire in terms of Yoga, his nae is Patrick Beach, which has quite a follower on instagram as well. Because he shows his advance Yoga skills, it makes me want to really reach his level of flexibility and fitness by also doing yoga at times. As for the immediate circle, such as my colleagues, if I know that they are working, it also makes me work even if at times I feel lazy. Because I need to keep up with the pace so everyone will be on the same page.
Motivation for me, especially role models can be a bias. It depends on who we follow, who we look up to, and in which fields they are specialized. The other successful people may have little to no impact at all. It depends on which message they want to reach the public and if it resonates with me.
Grin, A. (2022, August 1). Maslow and Rogers Similarities and Differences: Theories of Self-Actualization. StudyBay. https://studybay.com/blog/comparison-of-maslow-and-rogers-theories/#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20difference%20between%20Maslow,the%20need%20of%20the%20environment.
McLeod, S. (2014). Carl Rogers’ Humanistic Theory of Personality Development. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html
Cherry, K. (2022, April 28). Key Characteristics of a Fully Functioning Person. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/fully-functioning-person-2795197
Cherry, K. (2022, August 14). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760
Cherry, K. (2019, July 17). 9 Characteristics of Self-Actualized People. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/characteristics-of-self-actualized-people-2795963
Cherry, K. (2020, March 4). The Incentive Theory of Motivation. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-incentive-theory-of-motivation-2795382
Kohn, A. (1993). Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1993/09/why-incentive-plans-cannot-work