When I think of motivation, I think of something I don’t want to do, and that definition doesn’t serve me because I make little progress on my task. But I find splitting the concept into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is very helpful.
Extrinsic motivation is action toward an external reward or an ulterior motive. For example, doing a job solely for the money or going to the gym only to impress other people.
Intrinsic motivation is doing something for its own sake, doing it for yourself. It’s a satisfying, internal reward, and it’s “work” that doesn’t feel like work because we enjoy it. Actions on the intrinsic side of the equation sustain us, excite us and give us life.
There’s nothing wrong with external rewards, but if all the action to get the prize (the money, the material possession) isn’t enjoyable whatsoever, is it worth it? In my opinion, no. Admittedly, it’s better to have extrinsic motivation than none at all. But the intrinsic approach is the sweet spot.
My advice is to spend more time on tasks that bring us internal satisfaction. Maybe those things can become a new career track or become an addition to our career. Or make the tasks you genuinely enjoy a priority in your free time. For example, I spend more of my free time reading books than I used to. Life is best when we remove distractions and focus on things we are genuinely inspired and intrinsically motivated to do.
As someone who writes, it’s super important that I look for intrinsic motivation, because I can’t control how people would react to my work, and there will be the inevitable hater, and the only way to keep going is to know that external situations don’t matter as much as internal ones do. Anyway, thanks for this post!
Thanks, Stuart! It’s great to receive a comment from a fellow blogger, and those are some wise words. I plan to write about external circumstances vs. internal state of mind. Keep it up and do it for the joy it brings you.
Thanks Kyle for another thoughtful blog. I like the line ” make the tasks you genuinely enjoy a priority in your free time.” Even in retirement when I truly have lots of free time I still find that I need to consciously make time for what I really enjoy. It’s a process and a reworking of old habits.
It’s definitely an ongoing process, but it’s good to reflect on how we spend our time. Glad you liked the post! 👍
My biggest problem is the SELF CREATED EXTRINSIC task. I feel like I should change the house sediment water filter, pick up dead sticks fallen in the yard, clean the shop or garage, backup my computer files, schedule certain appointments, check the pressure in the car tires, sort this or that, work toward more minimalism, it goes on and on. An infinite number of tasks keep getting inserted in front of what I want to do. Almost everything is self imposed. Our minds think we can do it all, but in fact, with time and physical limitations, we find we can’t do it all. Such is life for many, including me. By being careful to pick what really needs to be done, the extrinsic tasks can be somewhat controlled. I have found enough intrinsic tasks to be mostly happy.
True, we overestimate our ability to get everything done in “x” amount of time. I think it comes down to priorities and putting time toward the most important things each day. Forget about the rest until its time – “cross that bridge when we get there.” Also, extrinsic tasks can be more enjoyable if we work on our mindset first and don’t rush into them (e.g. meditate first). That practice is something I’m still exploring and working on.
An example, one thing I’ve been wanting to do is carefully read these blog postings. I’ve skimmed them before, but today, I read every one carefully. It has been a rewarding intrinsic task. Thanks Kyle.