Uncover Your True Motivation
The four key types of motivation...
It’s 6 am, and the alarm goes off – what gets you out of bed? It’s 7 am now, and you see your sports clothes all laid out from the night before – why do you put them on and go for a run? Now, it’s 9 am, you open your PC – what gets you to start working?
Motivation is the fuel that ignites these actions. If not motivation, then maybe it is discipline or consistency. Perhaps you hope that the fresh start effect will boost you to take action. The question is: can you use motivation in your favor? Can you spark that extra bit of motivation when you need it? Or will you rely on an extra dose of willpower? In this article, we will explore all four types of motivation I came across in Ali Abdaal’s book Feel Good Productivity and see how they impact your behaviour.
Extrinsic Motivation
Have you ever wanted to receive a diploma or award or be recognized by your peers? Or even wanted to earn more money in your job or business? We all have been motivated by external factors. These recognitions and rewards are often a great source of motivation. This is the root of extrinsic motivation: external results, recognition, validation etc.
‘Extrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from outside us – we do something because we are impelled to, for example because we are told to by someone who has power over us.’ (Haig)
The Why is on shaky grounds. The tricky part about extrinsic motivation is that it often isn’t deep. If you are only fuelled through extrinsic motivation, it can be more challenging to face significant obstacles because the WHY isn’t that strong. You might suddenly find yourself thinking – if I don’t get that diploma, does it matter? Does a bit more money make a difference? And then your motivation starts to fluctuate.
Lack of meaning: The main problem with this type of motivation is the link to our expectations. We can get more easily discouraged if we don’t receive the expected reward soon enough. Or if we don’t see any progress towards it. There is a lack of meaningfulness, and focusing on external rewards can also be disempowering.
You are not in control of the outcome – that person might not give you that job, diploma, income, etc. By focusing on that external aspect, we are not focusing on the process, the growth, and our input.
Extrinsic Motivation as a bonus: In my view, extrinsic motivation can be a bonus if you also have intrinsic motivation. However, if you solely rely on extrinsic motivation to get yourself moving, you might find that your energy wanes, and you can’t summon that extra boost to get you through the tough times.
Arrival Fallacy: The reward is often bittersweet, even if you muster the courage to keep going. When you take action only through extrinsic motivation, if & when you do reach that final goal and outcome, you often realize that it wasn’t as satisfying as you had hoped: the eternal arrival fallacy!
Identified Motivation
Identified motivation comes when you feel the goal, task, or activity aligns with your goals and identity. Frequently, this is a more significant form of motivation than extrinsic motivation. You might realise that one of your activities is linked to one of your core values
Example: For instance, if you believe health is a fundamental pillar to leading a fulfilling life, you might have an ‘identified motivation’ to schedule personal fitness classes or join a running group. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you enjoy the activity per se, but you feel it is important.
Identified vs Extrinsic: Though on the surface identified motivation and extrinsic motivation seem very different, they bare some similarities. When identified-motivated, you might not be doing the activity for the reward or the external recognition, but you are doing it for the benefits of this activity. Therefore, you are not motivated by the process but by what you perceive to be the benefits of this activity. Of course, this type of motivation is still more powerful than extrinsic motivation because the activity does align with what you value and what is crucial for you.
Realisation: The realisation that intrinsic motivation is still driven by perceived benefits vs enjoying the process, was very powerful for me. Most of the actions I take in my life and business were once fuelled by identified motivation (this is important for me and aligned - therefore I will do it), but not always by intrinsic motivation (enjoying the process itself).
Thought process & Feelings: This type of motivation often begins as non-action, a realization that something ‘needs’ to be done. You might know that a task or goal is substantial. You might think: ‘I know I really must start to eat more healthily.’ or ‘I feel I need to study harder.’ or ‘It’s time for me to do more sales calls.’ or even ‘I know I need to start getting up earlier.’ Yet, in this type of motivation, the action has not always begun. It’s that stage of realization where the motivation is there, but you still need to transform that motivation into action.
Introjected Motivation
Introjected motivation is similar to identified motivation. It is linked to an internal way of looking at the situation. You are aware that the goal (task) is important and relevant. Maybe at first, you thought exercising would be important because it aligns with your perspective on health (identified motivation). Yet, you are not moving forward with it. That’s when introjected motivation comes in – a form of guilt and remorse about lack of action. Introjected motivation is a pressure to perform. It’s not a pleasurable motivation as guilt is the main source of this motivation
Example: In such cases, you might feel this ‘introjected motivation’ and take action to deal with the guilt. I remember in my work, I often used to think I was driven through intrinsic motivation (because it was internal and did not connect to anything external), but it was introjected motivation the whole time. ‘I am doing this so I don’t feel bad about not doing it.’ Many of the high achievers and performers I have coached operate everything under introjected motivation: ‘If I don’t do this, I will feel bad, guilty… So I will do it.’
Stick not carrot: This type of motivation can get you moving, but it comes at quite a high cost. Firstly, you are constantly fuelling yourself with pain to get you moving (talk about stick and not carrot!), and this means that if you don’t take action, you feel guilt (self-compassion is a constant struggle for high achievers).
Inner voice and guilt: It can also be the case that sometimes pushing and guilt tripping stop working. After a while, you might get fed up with that internal voice telling you that you are not doing enough or it is insufficient, and then all the motivation disappears. So then what?
Intrinsic Motivation
Of all types of motivation, Intrinsic is the strongest and keeps you going while having fun! Wow, isn’t that amazing?! It is the motivation that kept me going and still keeps me going with my podcast. Intrinsic motivation is enjoying the journey for the journey itself, not for external validation or because it aligns with your values (though it also often is), and not to escape guilt.
Feels amazing: Intrinsic motivation comes when you hardly need to ask yourself why you are doing something because it feels right. You get into the flow, enjoying the actual activity (not just the rewards of it). When you build that habit of exercising long enough, you might continue to go to classes week after week because you love doing them.
Love of the art: All artists, for instance, play music or paint because they love it. Art is in and of itself a source of motivation. All passionate people (about any subject or topic) are intrinsically motivated. Nothing external fuels passion; it is intrinsic. I often think about the best image for Intrinsic motivation is: the violinists playing in the Titanic film as the film is sinking. To play for play itself.
Shift perspective: If you are going through a phase where you are a bit discouraged about your business, exercise routine, or any other aspect of your life, you could ask yourself: how could you make this journey more enjoyable? How can you get into flow and enjoy your work again? Now, you can tap into your intrinsic motivation and access much joy there!
The Four Types
Whatever you decide to achieve in your life and work, ask yourself: why? As intrinsic motivation is both more effective and more enjoyable, try to find a way to shift from extrinsic to intrinsic, maybe by going through all four stages.
For instance, if you want to build your business to seven figures (or above), you might go through all four stages of motivation:
At first, you might think – extrinsic: you can buy your dream house
Then identified: you can align with your value of stability.
Maybe a brief stage of introjected: feeling guilty not progressing on your work.
And finally, you might reach intrinsic motivation: you enjoy the process of building and growing your business (almost regardless of the outcome!). If you can be primarily intrinsically motivated, you are far more likely to build resilience and enjoy the process!
Thank you for reading,
Enjoy the journey,
Katie