Why Motivation Comes and Goes: Understanding the Psychology of Motivation

A person can spend three hours learning everything about a hobby and then struggle to study a textbook for twenty minutes.

An employee can work intensely on a project they proposed themselves but delay a nearly identical assignment given as an order.

A student may work hard in one subject and repeatedly avoid another despite knowing both affect their future.

If motivation were simply a supply of mental energy, these differences would be difficult to explain.

Psychology offers a more useful picture. Motivation is shaped by several questions the mind is constantly, and often implicitly, answering:

Do I want this?

Do I believe I can do it?

Does it matter to me?

Am I choosing it or being controlled?

Is the reward worth the effort and cost?

Different theories emphasise different parts of this process. Together, they show why motivation is less like a fuel tank and more like a changing relationship between a person, a goal and an environment.

Motivation answers the question of why we act

Psychologists use motivation to explain the processes that initiate, direct and sustain goal-oriented behaviour.

It therefore involves more than enthusiasm.

You can be highly motivated without feeling excited. A parent waking repeatedly to care for a child may be exhausted but strongly motivated. A student preparing for an entrance examination may dislike the immediate activity while valuing its consequences.

Motivation also affects more than whether behaviour begins. It influences what people choose, how much effort they invest, how long they persist and whether they return after setbacks.

This distinction matters because “I don’t feel motivated” can mean several different things.

Perhaps the goal has little value.

Perhaps success seems unlikely.

Perhaps the task feels controlled by someone else.

Perhaps the cost seems excessive.

Perhaps the person values the outcome but dislikes the immediate activity.

Solving the wrong motivational problem produces poor advice.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

One of the most familiar distinctions is between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation occurs when an activity is pursued because it is inherently interesting or satisfying.

You read about astronomy because you want to understand the universe.

You learn guitar because playing is enjoyable.

You solve a puzzle because solving it is satisfying.

Extrinsic motivation involves an outcome that is separable from the activity itself.

You study for a grade.

You work for a salary.

You complete a course for a qualification.

But the distinction is more subtle than “intrinsic good, extrinsic bad.”

Self-determination theory, developed extensively by Richard Ryan and Edward Deci, argues that externally motivated behaviour can differ in how deeply people accept or internalise its reasons. Someone may obey only to avoid punishment, while another person may willingly perform an uninteresting activity because they personally value its outcome.

That difference helps explain why two people doing the same task can experience it very differently.

Autonomy: “Am I choosing this?”

Self-determination theory identifies autonomy as one of three basic psychological needs important to high-quality motivation and well-being.

Autonomy does not mean having no obligations.

It means experiencing behaviour as meaningfully chosen or endorsed rather than merely imposed.

Consider two students revising mathematics.

One thinks:

I have to do this because everyone will be angry if I fail.

The other thinks:

I do not particularly enjoy this chapter, but mastering it matters for the course I have chosen.

Both are responding to external realities, but the second student has more fully connected the task to a personally accepted purpose.

Research within self-determination theory argues that environments supporting meaningful choice and autonomy can foster more self-directed forms of motivation.

This is one reason explaining why a task matters can sometimes be more effective than simply increasing pressure.

Competence: “Can I make progress?”

The second need in self-determination theory is competence—the experience of being capable of acting effectively.

Tasks that are impossibly difficult can destroy motivation because effort appears useless.

Tasks that are trivially easy may become boring because progress carries little information.

Motivation often grows when challenge and capability are reasonably matched and when feedback makes improvement visible. Ryan and Deci’s framework treats competence support as an important condition for sustained engagement.

This helps explain why breaking a difficult goal into progressively achievable stages can be motivational without making the final goal easy.

The person begins accumulating evidence: I can do this.

Relatedness: “Does this connect me to other people?”

The third need is relatedness—feeling connected to and cared for by others.

People rarely pursue goals in total social isolation.

Teachers, managers, teammates, classmates, parents and peers can affect motivation by changing whether a task feels supported, meaningful or socially threatening.

A demanding instructor who communicates belief in a student’s capacity may create a very different motivational environment from one who uses humiliation.

A workplace that gives employees responsibility and social support may feel different from one in which every action is tightly controlled.

Motivation therefore cannot always be explained by examining the individual alone. Social environments matter.

Expectancy: “Do I think I can succeed?”

Another influential family of theories focuses on expectations and value.

Expectancy-value approaches argue, broadly, that achievement choices depend heavily on two judgments:

How likely am I to succeed?

and

How much do I value the task or its outcome?

Eccles and Wigfield’s work connects expectancy-related beliefs and task values with choices, persistence and achievement behaviour. Their framework also recognises that “value” is not one simple quantity: enjoyment, personal importance, usefulness and perceived cost can all influence a decision.

Imagine someone considering a professional qualification.

They may value it highly but believe they have almost no chance of passing. Motivation may remain low.

Another person may expect to pass easily but see no reason to obtain the qualification.

Again, motivation may be weak.

Strong action becomes more likely when people both value an outcome and regard success as plausible.

Value is more complicated than “I want it”

A goal can have several kinds of value.

Intrinsic value: Is the activity interesting or enjoyable?

Utility value: Will it help me achieve something else?

Attainment value: Is succeeding important to my identity or sense of competence?

Cost: What must I give up in time, energy, money or alternatives?

This last component is often neglected.

A person may want a promotion but decide that the longer hours and relocation are too costly.

A student may value a course but decide that another subject deserves scarce revision time.

These choices are not necessarily evidence of laziness. Motivation depends partly on trade-offs.

Expectancy-value research explicitly treats perceived cost as part of how people evaluate achievement-related choices.

Why rewards sometimes work—and sometimes do not

Rewards clearly influence behaviour. Salaries, grades, bonuses, prizes and praise can all matter.

But “reward” does not automatically mean durable motivation.

If a reward makes an activity feel more controlling, attention can shift from the activity to the external consequence.

Conversely, rewards that provide useful information about competence or acknowledge genuine accomplishment may be experienced differently.

Self-determination theory has therefore challenged the simplistic claim that all external motivation is equivalent. What matters partly is how the person interprets the reason for acting and whether the environment supports autonomy and competence.

The practical lesson is not “never use rewards.”

It is: do not assume rewards solve every motivational problem.

Motivation and discipline are not the same

A crucial distinction is between being motivated toward a goal and feeling motivated at every moment required to pursue it.

You may strongly value graduating from university while having no desire to revise at 7 a.m.

You may genuinely want financial independence while disliking routine budgeting.

You may care deeply about fitness while not wanting today’s training session.

Long-term achievement therefore requires systems that can operate during temporary motivational lows.

Schedules, habits, deadlines, environmental cues and accountability reduce the need to repeatedly decide whether you “feel like” acting.

Motivation can establish direction.

Self-regulation helps maintain movement.

Why motivation falls

When motivation disappears, asking “Why am I lazy?” is rarely the most informative question.

Instead ask:

Has the value changed?

Perhaps the goal no longer matters.

Has expectancy fallen?

Repeated failure may have convinced you that success is unlikely.

Has autonomy disappeared?

A chosen goal may have become experienced as an obligation controlled by others.

Has the cost increased?

Fatigue, competing responsibilities or financial constraints may have altered the calculation.

Has competence become unclear?

You may be working without feedback and cannot see whether you are improving.

Each diagnosis suggests a different intervention.

How to build better motivation

No technique can make every necessary task enjoyable, but several principles follow from motivation research.

Connect the task to a reason you actually accept

Ask why the outcome matters beyond avoiding criticism.

A meaningful reason can make an uninteresting task more self-endorsed.

Make progress visible

Large goals hide competence.

Track smaller milestones that demonstrate improvement.

Choose an appropriate level of challenge

Too little challenge invites boredom; overwhelming difficulty can undermine expectations of success.

Increase meaningful choice where possible

You may not choose whether an assignment exists, but you may choose when to work on it, what example to investigate or which method to use.

Reduce unnecessary costs

Simplify the environment, acquire missing skills, obtain help or divide a demanding goal into stages.

Build systems for low-motivation days

The strongest plan is not one that assumes enthusiasm will always be available.

It is one that still works when enthusiasm is absent.

Motivation is a relationship, not a personality type

Calling someone “motivated” or “unmotivated” can make motivation sound like a permanent trait.

But human behaviour is more conditional.

The same person can be extraordinarily persistent in one domain and passive in another. Change the perceived value, likelihood of success, degree of autonomy, social environment or cost, and behaviour may change with it.

That is why understanding motivation requires more than asking how badly someone wants something.

A better question is:

What does this goal mean to this person, under these conditions, at this moment?

Once motivation is viewed that way, it becomes easier to understand why it fluctuates—and why changing the environment or the structure of a goal can sometimes matter as much as trying to change the person.

Sources / Further Reading

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• Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci, “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being,” American Psychologist (2000). https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf
• Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, “The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior.” https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_DeciRyan_PIWhatWhy.pdf
• Jacquelynne Eccles and Allan Wigfield, “Motivational Beliefs, Values, and Goals,” Annual Review of Psychology (2002).

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Suggested Internal Links

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• How to Beat Procrastination — Planned internal link
• The Growth Mindset Explained — Planned internal link
• How to Develop Self Discipline — Planned internal link
• Understanding the Value of Consistency — Planned internal link
• How to Set Career Goals — Planned internal link

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