What motivates you? This is a question that many of us have been asked before; whether it was from another person or from ourselves, probably during a time of low motivation. Motivation is a common topic of conversation. For example,

“I got a random burst of motivation last night!” or “I have no motivation left to study/work/another tedious task of the sort.”

But despite talking or hearing about motivation a ton, I’ve realized that “motivation”, as a concept, is actually pretty complex. Honestly, I don’t think that many people, including myself, really understand it.

Why can’t we always feel motivated, especially while working on something we are passionate about? Why are we motivated to do one thing more than another?

There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic refers to motivation found internally from things like how you view/identify yourself, knowledge, beliefs, and values. Extrinsic, on the other hand, comes from external sources like rules, laws, or peer pressure.

It’s often believed that stronger motivation means you have more intrinsic, or internal, motivation. This is because it’s more “drilled in” to our mindset and psyche, and therefore has a stronger hold on how we act. However, I believe that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are important for achieving motivation in different circumstances and times.

My personal motivations are a combination of both:

My Intrinsic Motivators”

• I view myself as a hardworking person
• I love personal growth and learning
• Enjoyment/pleasure

My Extrinsic Motivators:

• my family and friends as role models
• fear of failure/embarrassment
• deadlines and rules in work and school settings

All of my motivators are equally important when it comes to my actions. For example, I work out regularly because

1. I see myselve as an active person (intrinsic)
2. I have the knowledge that exercising is healthy (intrinsic)
3. I enjoy working out (intrinsic)
4. My friends are also very active (extrinsic)
5. My family has taught me to be active through role modeling (extrinsic)

All of these go together. They range from self-perception to role-models in my life. I love analyzing my motivations because it not only helps me focus on myself, but also my surroundings. Being self-aware is a balance, just like motivation, of internal and external factors!

Take some time to journal about your own balance! I just moved back into my college dorm and classes start tomorrow, so I should get going now 🙂

Till next time,

Moesha.