Motivation is an essential ingredient to becoming a physically educated individual and leading a physically active lifestyle. Motivated students seek resources for creating their own goals, they are able to learn independently, and they persevere despite setbacks. In this article, the author discusses the social-cognitive approach to students' motivation and describes how physical educators can help develop motivation in their students by using the social-cognitive theory. The social-cognitive theory, in relation to motivation, assumes that there is a give-and-take relationship (called reciprocal determinism) between theoretical components. The three main components include: (1) personal beliefs and characteristics; (2) the environment where the behavior is performed; and (3) individual behavior (Bandura, 1977). (Contains 1 figure.)