Work Life Balance Podcast: Business | Productivity | Results

Let’s be real. If motivation was as simple as reading an inspirational quote and drinking a green smoothie, we’d all be billionaires with six-packs and zero emails in our inbox. However, it’s not and you know that already. The truth? Motivation is a bit of a trickster. One minute you’re firing on all cylinders, and the next you’re rearranging your desktop icons and Googling "how many almonds is too many almonds." So, let’s drop the rah-rah for a second and talk about what actually drives behavior, especially when you're already successful and looking for something more. Not just more money. More clarity. More discipline. More progress on the things that still matter. Turns out, the answer’s been around for decades. It’s called motivation theory— the psychology of what makes people tick. Most of it’s been locked away in grad school lectures and HR seminars. Once you strip the jargon, it’s surprisingly useful. Here’s a breakdown of the six motivation theories that can actually help you move forwa