The journey of exploration and wonderment begins, from the day a child is born and they learn to interact with the people around them. Interpersonal relationships help develop an individual’s personality but are also crucial in determining their motivation.
Aristotle famously stated that “humans are social animals”, they cannot thrive in isolation. They are in constant need of connection and bond; they develop their sense of identity based on the world around them. Interpersonal relationships constitute the communication, affiliation, and bond a person feels when they engage with other individuals.
When individuals interact with others, they start to assimilate the experiences of others in their perspective of the world as well. Healthy interpersonal relationships facilitate social support, they help maintain physical as well as emotional satisfaction. Furthermore, healthy relationships help combat loneliness and isolation.
Initiating, maintaining, and ceasing interactions or activities requires motivation. Motivation can be understood as the process which drives people to achieve their goals, it also helps them to stay on track when accomplishing their said goals.
Performing an activity or task because it gives you pleasure or happiness constitutes a part of intrinsic motivation such as reading books because one simply enjoys reading, rewards are not necessarily a part of this type of motivation. On the other hand, when behavior or actions are reward-driven, such as getting a salary for doing your job they become a part of extrinsic motivation. Both these types of motivations are determined by various factors. The level of motivation differs depending on different aspects.
Recognition, social standing, and the quantity but more importantly the quality of relationships an individual has, plays an important role to determine the motivational level.
Human beings need active feedback and appreciation to prosper and carry out the desired behavior. Social interactions provide individuals with a sense of belongingness and comradery, the quality of those interactions determines their effective functioning within their social circles viz friends, families, community, etc. Having secure and positive interactions drive people to feel optimistic about their abilities because individuals derive their sense of self from the people around them; which in turn enables them to stay motivated.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Aditi Dhavle is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.