Yesterday we talked about The Complete Personality Test and how it takes the four basic aspects of human behavior into consideration and arrives at your personality profile. Today we are going to discuss about a test which focuses on a specific personality trait - motivation. One definition describes motivation as "the arousal, intensity, direction, and persistence of effort directed toward job tasks over a period of time."

In simpler words motivation is about self-confidence, drive, determination, persistence, commitment and optimism. However, just like any other trait motivation cannot exist in isolation. We have to be able to control and regulate our own emotional energies in order to perform to the best of our ability, especially when under pressure.

An understanding of motivation is important as it is helps in the development of social skills including our ability to motivate and inspire others and not just ourselves. These skills are necessary for leadership, collaborative work and team building.

A common method used to motivate people is to provide them with incentives. Praise, rewards, prizes, honors and bonuses are commonly used as incentives in a wide variety of circumstances ranging from the relationships between two people (e.g. parent and child) through to how a large corporation seeks to manage the performance of its workforce.

The test How Motivated Are You? aims to find your general levels of motivation. It does not seek to measure your motivation, interest or inclination towards a specific activity or profession. For those who do not score very highly, do not despair there are ways to get all fired up. Find these out in How Motivated Are You?

Khozaima Motiwala.