Psychologial Motivation

Essay by Anonymous UserUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, October 1996

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What would our world be like without motivation and incentive to succeed?

Since the beginning of time, competition has been the basis for many social, political, and economic changes. Without competition, there would be no motive to excel beyond previous established norms. For example, athletes would have to compete in sports such as running, swimming, climbing and hiking where there is no camaraderie or motivation to surpass certain limits. Rainer Martens describes competition perfectly in his book Sport Competition Anxiety Test by saying that a competitive situation requires '[a situation] in which the comparison of an individual's performance is made with some standard in the presence of at least one other person who is aware of the criterion for comparison and can evaluate the comparison process.' Sports display competition at its best because of the bonds made out on the playing field between two rivals in an attempt to achieve victory and receive the distinction of being declared 'The Winner.'

Winning and losing isn't everything. Competition is all about playing for the love of the game whether it is baseball, football, hockey, track or any sport in which team work and athletic prowess are demonstrated. Some people think that habitual losers are scarred for life, or feel they are inadequate, but personally I feel that losing in sports is completely different. Failure needs to be achieved many times in sports because it gives one more motivation to compete on the field and triumph over previous defeat. In society, we compete for grades, jobs, money, honor, physical appearance and many other distinctions. Failure to achieve success in these areas may greatly affect your life. In sport, however, winning and losing is a formality and neither one dictates your fate.

The first issue that needs to be addressed is the distinction...