Internal and external motivators

Internal Vs. External Motivation: How To Build An Exercise Routine You’ll Stick To | by Tyler Tervooren

On my running routes, there are a few folks — the regulars — I can always count on seeing. We don’t know each other, but we wave and say “hi.” I like to add, “Enjoy the run!” for good measure. “Thanks, I always do!” is a typical reply.

I was talking to a friend about exercise recently and how it can be so hard to get yourself into any kind of rhythm that fits into a productive routine. You want to take care of your body and feel your best, but it’s damn hard to make the time in your busy life. Or you try a few routines and you just don’t like them; they don’t work for you.

That reminded me of those daily micro-exchanges:

“Enjoy the run!”
“I l always do!”

That’s not just a formality. We really do enjoy running. And the reason we enjoy it is highly dependent on where our motivation to run comes from.

If you’ve ever struggled to stick to a fitness plan — or any plan, really — the solution could be as simple as channeling your motivation from the right source. Here’s how to do it.

Talk to someone who works with drug rehab patients, and you’ll hear the same wisdom shared over and over: “Success depends on your motivations.” They can instantly tell if their patient will get clean and stay that way. Everyone who overcomes a drug addiction is motivated, but the ones who succeed long-term are the ones who are motivated for the right reasons.

And what are the right reasons? The research shows rehab success lasts when the patient is motivated to make himself better… for himself. Some people go to rehab because they’re afraid they’ll lose their job, their house, or their family. These patients might get clean, but it rarely lasts. Others go to rehab because they fear they’ll lose themselves. These are the people who turn their lives around for good. [1]

That example illustrates the difference between internal and external motivation. When you’re externally motivated to make a change, the things that drive that change are outside of you and your control. For an addict in rehab, it could be the loss of a relationship, a job, or something else. For you, trying to get in shape, it could be keeping your partner attracted to you, finding a mate, or impressing friends and colleagues.

All the data say if these are the reasons you do what you do, it probably won’t last. External factors change, you can’t control them, and trying to keep up with them proves useless over time.

But when you’re internally motivated, you’re driven by a desire to make yourself better. You’re only accountable to you, and that means you control the variables that decide whether you succeed or fail. When those factors are stacked in your favor, the odds say you’ll make lasting change.

The most interesting part (perhaps most frustrating for some) is all the outcomes you hope for from your external motivations are often better and longer-lasting when you ignore them in favor of finding the internal ones that drive you.

Let’s face it. We’re all externally motivated to some degree. But if you struggle to build an exercise routine that will become a part of your life and produce the lasting results you hope for, the trick is in tilting the scale just a little — finding the internal motivations that will produce those external results.

Here are a few things you can try that have worked well for me and millions of others who enjoy the benefits of regular exercise:

Focus on strength, agility, and endurance instead of appearance. Everyone wants to look great, but the only reason to look great is to have others look at you. Instead of making your looks your prime motivator, focus on increasing your strength, becoming more agile, and building more stamina. These are the things you control and, as you improve, the looks will come.

Only do exercise you enjoy. Don’t feel pressured to do any specific routine just because you think it will produce results faster. Any gains you do get will be lost when you give up because you don’t like it. If you like running, then do a lot of running. If you hate lifting weights, don’t lift any weights.

When you try something new, don’t give up for at least 30 days. When I started running, I didn’t like it that much, to be honest. I was overweight, out of shape, and not very good at it. But I wanted to give it a fair trial, so I stuck with it for a few months. Nearly 1,000 runs later, it’s one of my favorite activities. Don’t give up on something because you’re not good at it. Your skill will improve with time, and you’re more likely to enjoy the things you’re good at.

Focus on consistency, not results. You have more control over how often you do something than the results you get from doing it. And great results come from great consistency, not the other way around.

These are the primary factors in building an exercise routine that is a natural part of your life instead of one you struggle to implement over and over. When you let your internal motivations guide you, the results you get won’t just be better, they’ll be more fulfilling.

Sources:
1. Motivation for Change and Alcoholism Treatment

Internal (Intrinsic) Motivation: Examples and Benefits

Medically reviewed by Scientific Advisory Board — By John L. Schinnerer, Ph.D. on May 17, 2016

I was troubled by a conversation I had with my son this morning. My 10-year-old son came home from swim practice today and told me that he didn’t want to swim again and he didn’t want to go to another practice this season. When I asked why, he responded, “The coach told us that for each mistake made by any 9 – 10 year old swimmer in the swim meet tomorrow, we’d all have to swim a 100 yard butterfly next week at practice.” He was sure there would be at least 10 mistakes made (e.g., taking a breath coming off the wall, etc.). If that came true, then the 9 – 10 year olds will be made to swim 1000 yards (or 40 laps) of butterfly during the next practice.

I’ve done a number of sports psychology presentations. Part of my presentation focuses on positive versus negative motivation. In my opinion, the motivation discussed above is entirely negative and is punitive in nature. If you have ever swum, I think you’ll agree 40 laps of butterfly is punishment for a 9- or 10-year-old child. And the worst part is that an individual swimmer has little to no control over all the behaviors which leads to the outcome. In other words, an individual may swim great races and not make a mistake, and still be punished for the mistakes of others.

This sort of negative motivation does nothing to instill a love of swimming. On the other hand, it does lead to burnout. It will cause a young athlete to turn his back on swimming altogether. This is nearly always the case when values clash.

Ideally, children enter into a sport to build competence, be with their friends, discover a passion for the sport, and have fun. When these values conflict with those of a more competitive environment where the emphasis is placed on beating an opponent, burnout and turnover are the natural consequences. Interestingly, the same holds true for the business world. Human beings respond well to positive motivation. We recoil and withdraw under the thumb of negative motivation.

In general, motivation refers to the start, the direction, the intensity and the persistence of behavior. Motivation means having the passion and the will to undertake some action. Motivation may be internal (i.e., intrinsic motivation) or external (i.e., extrinsic motivation).

Internal motivation is seen when a person undertakes an activity for its own sake without any sort of external reward, such as a hobby. Internal motivation can result from our feelings (e.g., happiness, anger, and sadness), thoughts (e.g., “I better finish the report before the deadline tonight.”), values and goals.

External motivation is evident when someone behaves a particular way for reasons external to, or outside of, the person, such as money or coercion. External motivation may come from parents, a boss, coworkers, friends, and siblings. It is most frequently thought of in terms of salary (i.e., money), promotions, grades, praise and punishment.

A second dimension of motivation has to do with the underlying intention of the motivation, as seen in Figure 1 below. Motivation occurs on a spectrum ranging from negative to positive.

Positive motivation is seen when people engage in an activity that has a virtuous end, such as volunteering, athletics, or art.

Negative motivation is evident when individuals act in a manner that is unethical or has a destructive end, such as judging others, physical altercations or vandalism. Negative motivation also occurs when individuals use destructive emotions, such as guilt and shame, to coerce others into acting.

Think of motivation as occurring on a scale that ranges from 1 to 10 with 1 being negative and 10 being positive.

If you are looking for the best results in your workforce, you will focus more of your time and energy on positive, internal motivation for yourself as well as others.

Positive internal motivation begins with a sense of purpose, knowing why you are doing what you are doing. Having a clear idea of your personal core values will help you immensely in answering the question “Why am I doing this?” The amazing advantage of truly knowing your values is that you will experience a tremendous clarity and focus which you can use to make consistently wise choices and take decisive action. So the main reason for becoming aware of your top values is to improve performance in the areas that are most meaningful to you.

For instance, part of the work I do is motivated by my desire to give back to the community. Part of what I do is motivated by the core value of lifelong learning. Some possible core values include concepts such as creativity, open-mindedness, family, wisdom, courage, resiliency, and spirituality. Values change throughout your life, so it makes sense to do a quick values check up every 18 – 24 months. For a list of the top 26 core values that exist throughout the world, regardless of culture, check out the values list at www. guidetoself.com.

Acting in accordance with your values is only one way to tap into the power of positive internal motivation. Another way to harness this power is to lay out your top five short-term and long-term goals and work towards them. Remember as you are in the process of achieving your goals that the enjoyment comes from the doing not the attaining. It is important to find contentment in the act of pursuing the goal while placing less weight on the actual fulfillment of the goal itself. We now know that once we attain a goal, we become accustomed to it. Once we become accustomed to it, we grow bored of it. Then it provides no additional pleasure or motivation. So focus on the pleasure inherent in the task itself.

In closing, there are a myriad of ways that you can inspire action using positive internal motivation. Much of the power of positive internal motivation comes from being aware of your core values then acting in accordance with them. Another major facet of positive internal motivation is the pursuit of meaningful goals. Look for opportunities where you can use positive, internal motivation. You will perform better, be more productive and feel happier.

Internal versus External and Negative versus Positive Motivations

	Internal (Intrinsic)	External (Extrinsic)
Negative	One’s own feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, or fear Perfectionism Destructive anger Debilitating stress Need for power Need to please others Worry Low self-esteem	Person yelling at you Person shaming you Person threatening your job security or social status Punishment Withdrawal of love or friendship Aggressive show of strength from another, coercion Expectations of others
Positive	Acting in accordance with your values Satisfaction Sensory pleasure Sense of competence Enjoyment Praise from self Self-respect Fulfillment of aspirations/dreams Sense of achievement Highly engaged in activity Constructive anger or stress Job satisfaction Goal setting Pursuing our natural tendency towards self-development Need for affiliation with others Perception that what you are doing is morally significant	Money (only lasts a short period) Rewards Public recognition Empowerment from others Promotion Praise from others Respect from others Pleasant work environment Challenging work Some autonomy and input into decisions Appropriate responsibility Fringe benefits Friendships at work

About the Author

John Schinnerer, Ph. D. is President and Founder of Guide To Self, a company that focuses on coaching individuals and groups to their potential using the latest in psychology, psychoneuroimmunology and physiology. Most recently, Dr. John Schinnerer hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a prime time radio show, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Schinnerer has been a coach and psychologist for over 10 years.

Dr. Schinnerer is also President of Infinet Assessment, a psychological testing company to help firms select the best applicants. Infinet was founded in 1997 and has worked with companies such as UPS, CSE Insurance Group and Schreiber Foods.

Dr. Schinnerer’s areas of expertise range from positive psychology, to emotional awareness, to moral development to sports psychology. He is a noted speaker and author on topics such as emotional intelligence, sports psychology, and executive leadership.

Dr. Schinnerer wrote, “Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought,” which was recently awarded the “Best Self-Help Book of 2007” by East Bay Express. He has written articles on corporate ethics and EQ in the workplace for Workspan magazine, HR.com, and Business Ethics. He has given numerous presentations, radio shows and seminars to tens of thousands of people for organizations such as SHRM, NCHRA, KNEW and KDIA.

How to combine internal and external motivators - HappySnacks

Motivation is not easy to master, but the reward for doing it right can be enormous.

Much of the problem comes from the varied and personalized nature of motivation. Everyone is motivated by slightly different things, and in different ways. Despite these differences, there is always a common thread that you can follow in order to succeed.

Motivation is personal, but you don't need to deploy an individual motivation program for every person on your team. Understanding the basic types of motivation and some of the factors that drive them will help make any program more effective and more versatile.

Incentives and motivation

There is a subtle but important distinction between motivation and incentives. That is why many motivation programs fail to implement.

Stimulus is what you can give to any person in an attempt to motivate them to take (or not to take) an action. You can give an incentive to someone to do something, but if that incentive doesn't provide a critical level of motivation to act, then it just becomes a cost center.

Let's take an example:

You have an important project with deadlines that you need to complete, but there is not enough time on a standard business day to complete it. You state, "Free skydiving lessons for those who want to stay up late and help me with that."

This stimulus may be extremely attractive and motivating for some and completely unattractive for others. Among those who are motivated by it, the same stimulus can provide different types of motivation.

One person may feel compelled to agree because skydiving is an important step in their personal growth, while another may find it a convenient way to save on their monthly bill. Others may actively avoid staying up late and not helping because the thought of skydiving terrifies them.

That's why it's important to understand how different motivators work together and sometimes don't, especially in the context of your own unique team.

Motivational ecosystem

The two main categories of motivators are intrinsic and extrinsic, but do not confuse their categorization with polarized relationships. Many extrinsic motivators are closely related to intrinsic motivators and each can have a significant impact on the other. This situation can best be described as a motivational ecosystem.

External motivators

External motivation comes from outside the person. This is what a person can earn, but cannot produce himself. These are the motivators that you have the most influence on to influence directly through incentives.

Pay is probably the most common incentive that organizations use to motivate employees, as it is one of the simplest. But it's not the only way, and it's not necessarily the most efficient.

Here's the biggest problem with paying: it's a fungible and limited resource.

If you pay someone more to do something, the motivation you provide only exists if you keep paying them more. When money runs out, so does motivation.

Your salary and bonuses are identical to everyone else's. When someone else is willing to pay more, their incentive provides more extrinsic motivation.

Benefits are another way organizations can provide extrinsic motivation. They are often cheaper than paying extra. Examples are healthy and tasty snacks in the office, a kicker in the lobby, work from home, a private office or a company car.

Have you ever noticed that almost no one takes sick leave on pizza day?

The key is to provide perks that fit your organizational culture and that have a chance of providing additional intrinsic motivation. A good example would be something like subsidized learning materials or courses, which can also tap into the intrinsic motivational qualities of growth.

A job title is a small (or no) external motivator that an organization can provide, especially when a pay increase is not possible. This extrinsic motivation, which gives the promise of a new, higher title, may also speak of intrinsic motivators for growth and achievement.

Experience is a great form of motivation and may be unique to your organization. For example, as part of their job, employees travel around the world, meet great people, and help solve important problems. This experience and goals are part of what encourages current team members to stay and new ones to join.

Recognition is a unique and powerful motivator. Being recognized by colleagues for excellent work is an outstanding motivator. While receiving recognition is an extrinsic motivator, it has a strong positive effect on intrinsic motives such as purpose and self-esteem.

Creating an environment of high recognition is one of the most powerful ways an organization supports both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Responsibilities are another powerful extrinsic motivator that can also influence intrinsic motivation. Giving someone extra responsibilities can give them a sense of growth, purpose, and the opportunity to take responsibility.

As with all powerful tools, this one requires a different approach - there is a fine line between giving a volunteer recipient new responsibilities and assigning responsibilities to someone who is already overworked.

It is also important to provide the necessary autonomy and freedom of action, along with new responsibilities, so that they can perform them as efficiently as possible.

Intrinsic motivators

Intrinsic motivators come from within a person and cannot be given to others. However, they can be supported or inspired. This is where your external motivation strategy can have a positive impact.

Here are some examples of intrinsic motivators and some ways to support them.

Growth is a strong intrinsic motivator. Everyone wants to see that they are at least one step further today than they were yesterday. Helping your team members grow—creating structures to make it easier and helping them see them grow can be a significant motivator.

Mastery is the drive that pushed you to perfect this chocolate chip cookie recipe or this roundhouse kick. By providing opportunities and support to learn skills, you not only benefit from a more experienced team, but also motivate them to stay with you as they hone their skills.

Responsibility fits right into the center line between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. If you "hold someone accountable" for a specific action or behavior, you are providing external support for their motivation. Conversely, when someone is inspired to take responsibility, they are pushed by their own energy—and in that moment, something truly remarkable happens.

A goal is one of the most powerful intrinsic motivators a person can have, and while you can't give someone a goal, you can help them see it.

There is a purpose that can be found in almost any job, whether it be in the service industry, in a non-profit organization or in a dentist's office. By helping your team see purpose in their work, you will ignite the inner fire that motivates them to do their job.

Finding the intersection

The key to motivating a large number of people is to find the intersection of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
When both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are effectively supported, they feed off each other and work together to produce a result that is greater than the sum of its parts.

In conclusion

Motivation is a complex and varied topic, but it cannot be hacked. To increase your success, consider the difference between incentives and motivation, and the differences and similarities between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Internal and external motivation what is the difference | WEEEK | Blog

"Motivation" comes from the word "motive" - it is an object of need. Not the need or goal itself, but the desire to get or have something. So, for example, if a person is thirsty, then water is a need, and the desire to get up and take a bottle in order to feel full and enjoy the process of drinking water from a bottle is a motive.

For the first time the term "motivation" was used in his article by A. Schopenhauer, and the motive became the key concept of the psychological theory of activity, which was developed by the leading psychologists A.N. Leontiev and S.L. Rubinstein.

A lot of books have been written about motivation, there are thousands of videos on YouTube that deal with this topic, stand-up comedians joke about motivation and popular bloggers talk about it. Still, motivation remains one of the most popular queries in search engines, and one of the most frequent topics for discussion with a psychologist or coach.

How to motivate yourself, employees and colleagues? And is it possible? Let's figure it out.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation - what's the difference?

In modern psychology, motivation is divided into internal and external.

Intrinsic motivation is your desire to learn, get, achieve what you want, because you yourself see the value in this: a sense of your own competence, confidence in your strengths and intentions, satisfaction from your work, self-realization.
Intrinsic motivation is strengthened by positive feedback in the form of praise, approval and recognition of the work done.

External motivation most often operates with external factors and conditions: to receive a bonus, to work in a well-known large company, to receive an award, and so on.

External motivation is like a carrot in a picture with a donkey - it hangs in front of you, you want to reach it and go forward.

You most likely encountered extrinsic motivation for the first time in your childhood, when your parents offered you a reward for doing something or achieving a result. For example, when they promised to buy a new phone for graduating from school or when they paid pocket money for cleaning the room.

Intrinsic motivation occurs when you sincerely want to complete a task because it is interesting.

Although intrinsic and extrinsic motivation differ significantly, in most cases they are closely related.

For example, when you lay out an interesting task or project in the task manager, then your internal motivation is supported by external one - you see all the stages and want to close the tasks that are displayed on the kanban board.

Internal motivation helps us to grow above ourselves, improve ourselves and develop. External motivation helps to achieve goals, earn more and take a certain social status in society.

What really works?

As I said, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are closely related, but there are interesting points that I want to draw attention to.

If you observe children, then they have enough internal motivation - they are constantly in motion and studying the world around them. If a child is very passionate about the game, for example, putting together a puzzle, then he does not need external motivators, he wants to assemble the puzzle himself and look at the picture that will turn out.

But if during the game you approach a child and offer him a cookie, if he completes the puzzle within 30 minutes, then internal motivation will fade into the background and external motivation will take its place.

Now the child will assemble the puzzle not because he is interested in the process itself and he enjoys this process, but because he needs to complete the puzzle faster to get cookies.

The following features of external and internal motivation can be distinguished:

external motivation helps to increase the amount of work performed, and internal - the quality of this work;
if you remove external motivation, then with a sincere interest in the task, internal motivation will remain high;
and vice versa, if external motivation also appears with internal motivation, then the first, as a rule, decreases;
self-confidence enhances intrinsic motivation;
a key support for intrinsic motivation is inspiration and joy from the process;
with external motivation, the main joy is brought not by the process, but by the result;
internal and external motivation have the same result, but the quality of the work performed is different.

That is why internal motivation works better in creative activity, and external motivation works better in routine, mechanical and monotonous activity – it feeds internal motivation and helps to do more work (to produce more details, for example).

Psychologist's comment.
Marina Korobova , existential psychologist, leader of therapeutic groups, author and leader of trainings and soft-skills courses.

In my work, I meet clients who lived in different parts of our country, grew up in low-income families and dreamed that when they grow up, they will definitely go to a cool, eminent university and work in a large, prestigious company. For them, it was a “blue dream” and a chance to radically change their lives and, possibly, the life of their parental family.

Some of them did not even have an understanding of who exactly they wanted to be, only the desire to occupy a certain social status, working, for example, in the oil and gas industry or in a well-known IT company. And they achieved this, initially without even thinking about what position they want to apply for and how they see their career development.

That is, for these people, the search for their own business or the questions “what do I want to do in life?” go to second place. For them, the most important thing is to belong to something greater, to have a certain social status, influence, and with it high earnings and a different quality of life. This is a prime example of extrinsic motivation.

It would seem that achieving success and a prestigious job is quite an internal impulse, because no one set a task for a person to be more successful than his parents, he himself decided so. Why is the motivation external in this case? Because it is dictated by external factors: “poverty”, “difficult childhood”, and not by a sincere interest in the industry and the desire to realize oneself in a particular profession.

How to motivate a team?

If in the course of reading the article you are thinking about how to raise the level of internal motivation of employees, then first I advise you to understand their values and life priorities - what is important to them and what pleases them?

If an employee helps homeless animals in his daily life, then for him the internal motivation for work may be the fact that the company regularly helps shelters - transfers money and organizes trips in which employees can voluntarily help animals.

Possible internal motivation factors for the team:

participation in an interesting project
comfortable psychological atmosphere in the team
observance of employee rights
respect for privacy
compliance with the work schedule and the absence of overtime
freedom in choosing tasks and making decisions
the ability to independently determine the area of responsibility in the project

External motivation is most often associated with material benefits and improving the quality of life - everything that allows you to meet basic needs.

Classic extrinsic team motivators:

cash premium, company option
the possibility of additional rest (shortened work week or free schedule)
availability of comfort attributes in the office (gym, games room)
salary increase
medical insurance
possibility of remote work
Opportunity to learn from the company

In recent years, the term life work balance has become popular, which defines the balance between work and personal life - people began to pay more attention to their emotional comfort, personal life and hobbies, and work has ceased to be a key link in a person's life. “Live to work” was transformed into “work to live” - the emphasis changed and companies, following the employees, had to change the vector of motivation. That is why job vacancies increasingly mention comfortable working conditions in the office or the possibility of complete remote work, medical insurance, and even assistance with relocation.

Psychologist's comment.
Marina Korobova , existential psychologist, leader of therapeutic groups, author and leader of trainings and soft-skills courses.

When a person chooses for himself "a job he likes", the material component remains very important for him, as one of the basic needs in our life.

Intrinsic motivation is manifested in the fact that work should bring pleasure, a person wants to see meaning in it, so that it brings some benefit to people around and the world. But there is very little specificity in this. In order to maintain internal motivation, it is very important to see external confirmation of your success and your achievements and have a specific vision of what exactly a person wants to do and by what criteria he will understand that this activity is really what he wants.

I often observe how a person cannot determine himself for any activity. It seems that he is learning something and doing something, but if there is no external confirmation that it really works out, then there is no sense of self-realization. A person may think, “If I can’t provide myself with this activity, or if I don’t see a response to my activity, then I’m not a professional.”

Therefore, it is very important to give employees a confirmation of their value, to praise the team, to see the merits not only professional, but also personal, as a person, and to celebrate these merits both at 1-1 meetings and at team meetings.

Improving intrinsic motivation is very important. This helps us to grow an internal support, which, even if some external factors are destroyed, will still help us move forward.

But we all understand that a person is a part of society. therefore, it is important for all of us to receive external confirmation that we are on the right path, it can be praise, money, status, etc.

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