Are motivation and emotion the same thing?

Motivation and emotion are different but related. It’s common to think about motivation as the “stuff” that creates the drive to action towards a goal and to consider emotion as feelings that come from the motive, as coming from actions toward the goal, and arising from attaining or not attaining a goal. It is a bit more complex than this initial glace, however.

Motivation is a reason for acting a desire to achieve something. Motivation is an important component of any behavior. If a person chooses to enroll in college, there is the motivation behind it. Choosing to get married, go out for dinner, or head to a yoga class all involve some varying degree of motivation for the behavior.

Emotion is a feeling that arises or is derived from circumstances. It’s a subjective experience that also involves biology; emotions have a physiological response in the body, and physical responses can occur aside from the unseen brain chemistry involved. A facial expression or even action or behavior can arise from an emotion.

Emotion and motivation can propel behavior. Feeling happy can contribute to motivation towards a goal and further energize behavior. Emotion can also create behavior that may contradict motivation toward a particular goal. Experiencing a wave of sadness because of an interaction with a friend may leave you feeling as though the best option is to skip dinner and head to bed early, which may interfere with your goal of a nightly after-dinner walk.

Emotions may be a result of motivated behavior as well. For example, having a goal of taking a walk after dinner each night may come with the emotion of happiness or satisfaction once the behavior is completed. Emotion can serve as a part of motivation. Feeling disappointed with the level of physical activity you get may lead to setting a goal of walking daily. The feeling may serve as a motivator, too – avoiding disappointment and encouraging the feeling of contentment attained after that nightly walk, for example.