Now let's examine them in greater detail.

The Need for Self-Esteem. Many people think that once you've reached adulthood, you should be done with the struggle for self-esteem, or self-confidence. But that is definitely not true. Finding self-esteem can be a constant struggle for any talented, intelligent adult. Self-esteem is important as you learn new skills. If you don't have self-esteem, you will be more prone to failure and therefore less motivated to complete your tasks or begin new ones.

However, finding more self-esteem is easier said than done. Most people don't just wake up one morning and decide that they're now confident, successful people. It is a process that can take months, even years, to build up. But once you've found your self esteem, you'll find that you're much more motivated and therefore much more successful.

The Need for Relatedness. Feeling that we belong is imperative to our motivation and success. Making a special effort to be welcoming, sociable and supportive is much more effective than treating someone or some encounter like an examination or drudgery. In the workplace, it's very important that you feel relatedness with your co-workers. As a boss or a worker, you may discover that it's worth the extra time in meetings to let employees or fellow co-workers chat for a few minutes during a meeting. This simply allows them to feel a bonding with each other, which will improve the overall desire to be motivated among the workers.

The Need for Autonomy. Everyone wants to feel independent and important. Being independent gives us more of a desire or motivation to do our jobs and do them well. Put your employees in charge of tasks and you'll find that those tasks will be done more efficiently and quickly than if you had micromanaged the task yourself. People are more motivated to do things when they are in charge of their own choices and destiny. Having control over our actions gives us more motivation to live in a way that will lead us to success.

The Need for Competence. Feeling capable is inextricably tied to being motivated. The knowledge that we are capable to accomplish whatever we want will lead us to making great decisions and choices in our lives. If you aren't convinced that you are capable enough to accomplish your goals, look for ways to improve your self-esteem. Self-esteem and competence and imperative to having motivation.

Following these four universal motivators will greatly improve your motivation. If you have good self-esteem, feel related to those around you, have a feeling and sense of autonomy, and are competent in your daily activities, your motivation will come and be there to stay. If you have a specific problem with any one of these four points, talk to a professional who may be able to help increase one of these points (for example, self-esteem).