Note: This article is by Rick Ornelas, who shares his experience exploring the achievement drive.
It was in the early days that I started CrossFit, and I was still trying to cope. Still, I did not know yet that everyone was waiting and watching until the last person finished the workout. This was part of the social support they gave each other in difficult times.
I was encouraged by the cheers of others as I completed the exercises one by one, and I knew that each one counted toward my final score. CrossFit, like many other sports, is measured by different numbers to indicate success, such as weight, time, frequency, etc. These metrics provide the standard of excellence that athletes do their best to meet. It is actually dangerous for many of them, as I will soon find out.
Soon after that day, I realized that many of the athletes I worked with-including myself- were motivated by a special kind of motivation, which was normal for me because I came from a competitive sports environment and trained my clients in inspiration every day. However, I knew there were massive forces at play here. So, I decided to study it a bit, and that's when I came across a term I didn't know before the achievement motivation.
What Is The Motivation For Achievement?
Given that the concept of achievement motivation may be unfamiliar to you as well, hqere's a brief definition to help you understand.
Achievement motivation is defined as the need for achievement, an essential factor associated with ambition, effort, and perseverance when an individual expects to be evaluated for performance against specific criteria of excellence.
For example, in the case of exercise, I would push myself to get the best possible result, knowing that it would be compared to the consequences of all the other athletes and written on the board for everyone to see.
Although the dictionary definition may provide an understandable context for the meaning of achievement motivation, you are still wondering: What is achievement motivation, and how does one use it?
Let's take a deeper look that will help you not only better understand but perhaps advance in your workouts and other areas of your life.
Atkinson's Achievement Motivation Theory
The concept of achievement motivation dates back to the 1940s. Many works on success and failure, along with the vanity concept, laid the early foundation for what would become John W. Atkinson's achievement motivation theory (1966), abbreviated as AMT.
Achievement motivation theory explains the complementary relationship between an individual's characteristics and their need to achieve something in life. It also takes into account the type of competitive motivation that a person has to achieve and set goals. For me, this was the motivation to have fun in training. Other examples that may apply to you include how you perform at work, school, or even in local sports competitions.
In any case, different forces affect you. Then, one of the main components to be noticed is the presence of internal and external factors that play a role in motivation. The theory says that the motivation one has to achieve something in life is strongly subject to these factors.
Examples are
- Internal factors: Desire, determination, punctuality, and personal motivation.
- External factors are also known as environmental factors: Pressures, expectations, and targets, all are determined by relevant organizations, family members, or the community.
In the case of my CrossFit exercise, specify the time and number of repetitions at the beginning of the class, and by rethinking it, there were internal and external factors at play.
First, I felt a strong desire and determination to finish. This internal drive motivated me in that situation since I was committed to finishing from the beginning and would not give up.
Second, all the other athletes' presents were finished, and it was uncomfortable for everyone to wait for me, which gave me the extra pressure I needed to keep moving.
Overall, internal and external factors gave me the motivation I needed to finish the exercise.
Other influencing factors
Apart from the factors above, many others can influence and interact with your achievement motivation, especially in situations involving other people, such as CrossFit. Some can be classified as internal and external, but they are all intertwined and can play an influential role.
Your values, educational background, cultural background, external support from the organization you are part of, awards, celebrating achievements and recognizing success, providing constructive feedback, and helping the individual grow by providing the proper support mechanism are all important and play an equally important role in achieving the desired motivation.
The adage “we are a product of our environment” is certainly true when it comes to achievement motivation.
Another thought that came to my mind when I read this list is that I can clearly see why CrossFit is so popular. It provides almost every one of these influencing factors in a welcoming environment, and this example shows us the power of external components.
Does the success of the achievement motivation depend on you?
At this point, you might say to yourself, “Sure, the outside world has an effect on me, but I make my own choices; Motivation comes from within.” That's right, we all make our choices and are guided by our inner feelings.
We are emotional beings who think sometimes and not the other way around. You have to take a step back and think about your usual triggers in a particular situation. Is it usually the internal or external motivation that motivates you? Here's more information about these two mysteries in case you're unfamiliar with them.
External motivation
An external motivation to participate in a specific activity, especially the motivation arising from the expectation of punishment or reward. For example, you want to succeed in promotional advertising to earn more money, in which case you are driven by external reward, which is money.
Internal motivation
It is an incentive to participate in a specific activity that stems from pleasure in the action itself and not because of any external benefits that can be obtained, such as wanting to get a promotion, feeling more satisfied with your work, in which case you are driven towards achieving promotion through your hard and diligent work.
When you add these definitions to the mix, the picture becomes a little clearer. Your experience may vary from situation to situation. Still, you tend to choose one of these two options.
Comparing Success to Failure
Another important aspect is that the motivation for achievement stems from two separate needs. One is the motivation to achieve goals, which is related to the desire to achieve successful goals, and the other is the motivation to avoid failure.
Some individuals are reluctant to take responsibility for achieving goals or participating in activities because they fear failure, and the motivation to avoid loss includes anxiety about the consequences of failure, self-criticism, distraction, or an accelerated heart rate or nervousness, all of which can lead to poor performance.
On the other hand, those who need to achieve goals successfully are more motivated to continue with the targets they know they can achieve, which means that your achievement-oriented behavior is strongly influenced by your tendencies to succeed.
The drivers of success and failure can be seen in competitive environments around the world, from the local CrossFit gymnasiums to the Olympic Games. So, only listen to the post-match interviews, and you'll hear the signs of the athlete's momentum. I personally enjoy listening to music played in matches, such as DJ Khaled's All I Do is Win, or Beck's Loser; music always shows how the outside world views the athlete or the match, bringing us back to the power of external factors.
They are particularly prevalent in areas where performance is assessed. Attention is drawn to the critical role of external motivational tendencies in achievement-oriented activities. This means it can be challenging to know whether the driving force is external or achievement-driven.
Is the achievement motivation real?
At this point, you might feel a little confused and wonder if the drive for achievement is there or if it's just another type of persuasive motivation. Believe me, some of these components may lead to a bit of confusion. Still, there's one overarching principle that will affect your belief in the drivers of achievement.
According to achievement motivation theory, a person's need to achieve something, and the reason behind their general motivation to achieve a particular goal often comes from within and is strongly related to the individual's need for strength and belonging. In other words, you make your own choices, and your desire to control is what drives these choices.
I bet you're happy to hear that, but the essential thing to remember is that the achievement motivation stems from an emotional feeling.
In the example above, it was my feelings that drove me. My competitive feeling, my male pride, and my desire not to be insulted pushed me to achieve no matter how small the achievement, and it was really small. I do not know any stronger memory in my mind, the difficulty of exercising or achieving a wrong result.
However, I benefited from the achievement motivation, and it wasn't long before I began to defeat almost everyone and reach the top, as the pregnant lady continued to beat me until the day before birth. I think you can not win everything, but you can be excited to try.
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