Blog: Motivation

RANDom thought: Lord, please motivate me to do something, anything, anything at all!

When you hear the word motivation, what are your first thoughts? Mine is often guilt. What do I need to get done today? How do I get started? What can I tell myself to get moving?

Other times, just hearing the word kicks me in the pants to do something.

Motivation is the desire to act toward a goal or plan. That is my definition. You can find many more on google!

Some people seem to have more motivation than others. Why is that? There are two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is internal. For example, if we work out daily simply because we enjoy it, that is intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation requires an outside force or reward. Staying with the working out example, if you do not like to work out but know that it will result in losing weight, that is extrinsic motivation.

There is much debate on which type of motivation is better for us to reach our goals. Research has shown that intrinsic motivation is more effective in the long run. External rewards can diminish internal motivation. If we always get lavish praise for doing something, that becomes why we do it, not because we enjoy it. If we have a hobby that we turn into a job, often it takes the joy out of the hobby. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation can help get us complete an unpleasant task. If you cannot stand to work out but know that it keeps you out of the Doctor’s office, that is still beneficial and a motivator for you to get moving.

We often need to use both types of motivation to complete a goal. For example, I want to write a book but struggle to finish it. My external motivation is that I believe it will increase my business. However, at this point, I have no internal motivation. Therefore, I am eight months into the year and only have one chapter written! My solution is to hire a writing coach to give me external motivation. A coach will provide me with deadlines, advice, and check-in dates. These extrinsic motivators will hold holding me accountable. I hope that my intrinsic motivation will kick in once I get started, and I will find that I enjoy the process.
Stay tuned to see how this works out! What do you need to be motivated to do?

Email me, and I will send you a worksheet to help determine what motivates you.
[email protected]

I will discuss this topic more in a FB live mini training on the private Career Cultivators site on Wednesday at 4:30 EST. Join me there!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/99352595112853

The Boss Lady Podcast: Episode #102 will discuss this topic. It comes out on Thursday, August 18,2022
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/JPL2EYVjksb

Remember, as my Grandfather always said, “Take time to stop and smell the roses”!
Until we meet again, take care.