How To Define Motivation and Inspiration:
The Power of the Difference

"How do you define motivation and inspiration? What is motivation and why does it seem to be so elusive on my team and in my life? I want more motivation, results, energy and commitment from my team. I want everyone to be self-motivated NOW!"

That's the 'cry' I often hear from frustrated leaders who want and need more from their team.

I’ll define motivation and inspiration here and throughout this website provide resources to help frustrated leaders.

To find detailed tools and resources around the five areas that are crucial to improving your own and others motivation and inspiration, go to Inspire Resources now.

First, I'll define motivation:

To motivate: To provide with an incentive; to move to action; impel.

That sounds pretty good, it's what you're after, right? Bottom-line, you want people to take more action, you need to get more results, faster. Motivation IS good. But consider the possibility of inspiration.

Here's a definition for inspiration:

To inspire: To stimulate to action. To affect or guide. To stimulate energies, ideals or reverence.

How does THAT definition strike you? Can you see the subtle, but big difference between how we define motivation and inspiration?

Motivation IS better than being apathetic, but it requires a lot of pushing and prodding from you the leader. Inspiration on the other hand involves more of your guidance. When you're focused on inspiration you're activating the employee's desire to act, which is less labor intensive and longer-lasting.

Motivation is the pedal car.

It goes. You DO get movement, but it requires more work on your part. You've got to push, pedal and be there for it to work. The pedal car, like motivation, can be labor intensive.

Inspiration is the race car.

Less work on your part because the engine is strong and self-powered. The race car, like inspiration, is much more powerful and can cover greater distance, faster.

The idea of having a self-motivated, powerful team is probably the main reason you're interested in defining motivation in the first place, right?

Dwight D. Eisenhower defined motivation by saying, "Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."

I believe that when people truly want to do something, as a result of their interactions with you, you have now stepped into the realm of inspiration. In inspiration you're guiding not forcing and prodding, NOW you're leading!

As we define motivation and inspiration I include this slight play on words and focus on inspiration, but the difference between motivation and inspiration means a big performance difference.

My guess is that you'd pick the race car over the pedal car, right? You want that power and strength on your team, but how do you get more of that? How do you inspire your team to create more race car power?

Click here to find out more about the five areas that will not only help you define motivation and inspiration but will help you get the race car power and performance you’re after for yourself and others.

Thank you for reading and thinking about how to define motivation and inspiration for yourself and others. I add new materials and resources to this website weekly. Click on the bright greed RSS feed, above left, to be notified of updates.

I also share new resources and insights about inspiration in my monthly e-Newsletter via email. If you'd like to subscribe, click here now. Thank you again for spending time with me here.

Join Our Email Newsletter List Email:

Wake Up Eager Resource Page

Take the Free Wake Up Eager Quiz here.

Like the Site? Questions or Suggestions? Contact Suzie Here

Priceless Professional Home.