Motivation refers to the ways in which our actions are initiated, sustained and directed.
For the purposes of this discussion, motivation refers to both the internal and external factors that encourage people to be interested in and committed to attaining a set goal. These factors can include goals that I set myself, expectations of myself and other third parties, responsibilities set by my external circumstances and many more. Motivational factors can also be conscious and unconscious. All the different parts that make up motivation are what causes me to function as a healthy well-adjusted person in the world that we live in.