Following Intrinsic Motivation
We all have things that intrinsically motivate us; often, it is the reluctance to follow that self-motivation that keeps us from achieving the very things we know and feel that we can achieve—like building wealth and living well.
What Is Intrinsic Motivation?
Intrinsic is defined as (according to Encarta):
- “Basic and essential” – “belonging to something as one of the basic and essential features that make it what it is”
- “Of itself” – “by or in itself, rather than because of its associations or consequences”
Think of your intrinsic motivation as that part of you that is instinctually motivating—the voices and the knowledge that you feel as being at the heart of you and your plans and goals.
Intrinsic motivation is hard to define in some ways, but it suffices to say that it is that “gut-feeling” that compels you forward—the little voice telling you what you know to be right and true.
Intrinsic Vs. External Motivation
Not all motivating factors in your life are intrinsic. Money, for example, is a very common external motivator. Money does not always motivate in the same way, and money could be both an intrinsic and external motivator, depending on how it is acquired. For example, money via a paycheque motivates you to go to work. Money as a tool for wealth and living well motivates you to pursue wealth creation.
Too often we ignore that intrinsic motivation, those gut feelings and voices that point us in the right direction. Why? Not because we know them to be untrue, but simply because there are too many other external factors that we feel are beyond our control. You’ll find that intrinsic motivation is far more compelling than external motivators, though, and when you learn to embrace that internal mechanism for success you will find that all the ‘work’ ahead of you is not really work at all—it’s what you’ve wanted to be doing all along, complicated only by your ignoring your intrinsic motivation.
Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
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