Are motivation and drive the same thing?

The Cambridge dictionary defines motivation as the willingness or desire to want to do something.  It defines drive as a planned effort to achieve something.  It is safe to say the outcome of both of these is very similar—something happens where a goal is achieved, or results are produced.  The difference is that one is a thought a person (motivation) has, and the other is the person's action (drive).  Motivation is also connected to a person’s emotions (desire) and can be temporary.

For example, a person may be motivated to lose weight, get a promotion, or save enough money to purchase a car.   The motivation to do these things is internal, personal, and want or desire.  There are times that the motivation can be for the benefit of someone else as well.  An example may be a person in a relationship changing their behavior to benefit the other person and the relationship so the relationship can be healthy instead of unhealthy.  Motivation can be internal or external and can also ebb and flow; there may be times that the motivation is lower one day and higher the next.

The drive is what keeps a person moving forward to accomplish their goal.  A person’s motivation may be below to go to the gym, but their drive has them go even if they do not want to.  Drive and motivation often go hand in hand, and while someone may be motivated to go to the gym once a week or once a month, the drive is what will keep them going several times a week to meet their fitness goals.  This is where the person will have the motivation to go periodically when they see a piece of clothing they want to fit into or a picture of how they want to look, but the drive will keep them going to work out even when they do not want to.  The drive is long-term and keeps the person focused on the result even when the motivation dips low or is non-existent at times.