Intrinsic Motivation

Do you “walk your talk?”

“What Sticks,” Alcohol Ink on Tile, Mixed Media Found Objects

Why is it that we can talk forever about doing something, becoming something, achieving something — but never actually do the thing?

We’re missing the right kind of motivation — INTRINSIC motivation.
When I learned about the power of intrinsic motivation it was as if the big kaleidoscope in the sky shifted 180 degrees.

Intrinsic motivation is the drive we feel for doing things we love — it comes from the joy we experience in the doing — not from the outcome. A good example is exercise. People who are intrinsically motivated to exercise do it because they love it; people who exercise to gain an outcome — weight loss for example, are extrinsically motivated.

Intrinsic… Extrinsic… What difference does it make?
A whale of a lot!

Intrinsic motivation comes from meeting basic psychological needs to feel self-directed, competent, and connected to the world around us. When we only do something because we have to that’s extrinsic motivation, which leads to dissatisfaction, poor performance, and short-term behavior.

I learned about motivation while I was earning my PhD, something I was intrinsically motivated to do. Afterward, I taught for three years until I realized my intrinsic motivation had gone…