Conation

In the philosophy of mind, and in psychology, conation refers to the ability to apply intellectual energy to a task to achieve its completion or reach a solution. Conation may be distinguished from other mental phenomena, particularly cognition, and sensation, and has been described as "neglected" in comparison with these phenomena. It may overlap to some extent with the concept of motivation, but "the ability to focus and maintain persistent effort" has been seen as more pertinent to conation.