What drives you?

Like many others, you’ve probably thought about what drives you to accomplish goals. What makes you get up in the morning? Is it money, personal satisfaction, family, or status? Is there a reward at the end of the road? If so, what kind? Let’s first look at the definitions of internal and external motivation and consider how each moves us closer to success.

According to the dictionary, the definition of motivation (noun) is the condition of being motivated and having a strong reason to accomplish or act upon something. It is the fire that ignites change.

Further, motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is enjoying the process of accomplishing the task. It is not driven by any external reward factor. This type of motivation is related to our personal values. For example, if you were raised in a household that values volunteerism, you would not need the external reward of getting school credit for volunteering. You’d do it because you believe this is a good thing to do.

Extrinsic motivation involves an external reward. This could involve money, praise, fame, or all of the above. Doing something you normally don’t enjoy sometimes involves extrinsic motivation. It can be the initial reason that gets you out of your chair. For example, when you were a kid, and maybe even now, you might’ve been rewarded with an allowance for mowing the lawn. So even though you didn’t enjoy it, you did it to gain the ability to buy things you wanted.

Through simple observation, it is obvious that if money was not offered to you to mow the lawn as a kid, you’d probably never have done it. Commitment based only on extrinsic motivation is fleeting. So then, how can you convert extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation?

Depending on the goal, there could be several ways to go about this. Once again, let us use the example of trying to get fit. Let’s say a person only works out if their friend is present or if they know there will be people telling them how good they look. The external factors that influence success are the presence of the friend or the societal accolades.

What if we reframed the thought of being fit? Fitness isn’t just being strong and being able to run a mile in 6 minutes. A few other benefits of being fit: an improved ability to respond in emergencies, improved mental sharpness, and increased relaxation. Who knows, someone might be inspired by your dedication and launch their own fitness journey.

What we did in the last paragraph is reframe fitness to be more than just a physical activity. It is absolutely bigger than that. When it is mentally reframed, you have a better chance of simply enjoying the process and not just working towards an external reward. Seeing the bigger picture takes time, however. Try to recognize a clear cause and effect of being fitter while you’re on this journey. Here are some examples:

“I’ve never been able to keep up with my kid until I’ve started working out and eating healthier.”

“I can’t believe I knocked out that project AND was still able to make dinner, do the dishes, and walk the dog!”

Keeping a close observation of behavior change can help you see the effects of your commitment. Journals and voice memos allow you to go back and observe pattern changes, but this isn’t always necessary. Sometimes someone else might make that observation for you. If your friends and family notice a change in your behavior or energy level, they’ll probably let you know. While that can be nice, don’t let the probability of your success be defined by an external source. Eventually, “I don’t feel like it” will no longer be a good enough answer to not work out.

This thought process can be applied to nearly any aspect of your life.

You have the ability to develop the discipline needed to succeed.

Reframe, recognize, show up, and repeat.

Prefer video over the written word? The subject isn’t the same but feel free to check out:

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