The Difference Between External Motivation And Motivation That Lasts
Posted in Personal Development on September 14th, 2007 by JennyErin and I are very pleased to say that Jason from A Miracle a Day agreed to write a guest post for us. I’ve had a very hard time writing a proper introduction for Jason. Not because I can’t think of anything to say but instead because there’s too many things to say… Jason is a great guy. He is thoughtful, considerate, caring and highly intelligent. He’s the kind of man you’d like in your corner when things aren’t going well and someone it’s a pleasure to be around when they are. He loves learning about as much as anyone I’ve ever met and is one of the rare people who understands how transformative a dialogue can be. He is also a source of much envy because he is one of the most articulate and prolific writers I’ve ever met. My jealousy over this runs deep…
You can break down any specific motivation into one of two categories: external motivation or internal motivation. Losing weight for a specific event, or to impress a certain person is external motivation. Losing weight because you like the way you feel better is internal motivation.
Both types of motivation work. Either one can prod you into doing something, like losing weight in the examples above. External motivation, however, is destined to fail, sooner or later.
In the examples above for external motivation, you can easily see how the motivation based on the specific event ends once that event is reached. You may or may not have reached your goal, but either way, that motivation has gone away. The same is true for impressing someone, too… either you impress them or you don’t, but in the long run, impressing them with your body is going to lose its importance.
True, you can then turn and look for another source of external motivation, and for something like losing weight, you can probably find it. Each time you do, however, that motivation is eventually going to end as well, and then you’ll be looking for yet another source. And another. And another.
Internal motivation has three major advantages over external motivation:
A Reliable Source Of Motivation
Internal motivation essentially can be described as doing it “because I want to”. There can certainly be refinements on that, as to why it is that you want to, but that essence remains. If you truly want to do something, for internal reasons, you have motivation that doesn’t require you talking yourself into it. There is no more reliable source than yourself… you are the only thing that you have full control over, with no way for an outside party to interfere with your motivation unless you let them.
Persistence
That leads to far more persistent motivation… and the second advantage as well. If you don’t succeed at your effort when you are relying on an external source of motivation, you feel like you failed, and are likely to give up. If you don’t succeed when relying on internal motivation, however, you still have that motivation, and you are more likely to pick yourself up and try again. That means that you will be far more likely to continue down the path that your motivation is prodding you along.
Adaptability
And then comes advantage number three for internal motivation… if you rely on internal motivation and things change, so that you no longer feel like pursuing that goal, you don’t feel guilty. After all, you were doing it because you wanted to, so if you don’t want to pursue it now, what’s the big deal? If you were relying on external motivation however, you are likely to
experience feelings of guilt, guilt that you failed at what you set out to do. This means that you are more likely to be happy, and to turn that motivation that has faded into a different, stronger direction, rather than just let it dribble away.
With those significant advantages, it is easy to see how internal motivation lasts longer and is healthier for you, as well. That doesn’t mean that you can’t, or shouldn’t, use external sources of motivation to get you started along a path to change… it just means that if you don’t have internal motivation as well, your chances of reaching the end of that path, unless it is very short, start fading fast.
So dig within, and find out what your internal motivations are… find out what it is that you REALLY want to do, without regards to outside influences.
And do it.
Related Posts:
(Jenny again. Here are links to a couple of my favorite posts of Jason’s and really show how broad his topics are.)
What Schools Don’t Teach - How to be a Man
The Law of Attraction Demystified
Are You Anchored or Adrift
Subconscious - The Conscious Mind’s Henchman
September 14th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Eep! I make you jealous? Maybe you should read The Secret Of Killing Envy.
Just kidding… I’m glad that you read and enjoy my articles, and I hope to continue, as you say, to be prolific with them.
Oh, and I am open to requests for articles on specific topics (Just ask Jenny… the Anchored article mentioned above was at her request).
September 14th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Darn you Jason! I’ve read it and read it and read it…and it hasn’t gotten through my thick skull yet!
It’s a good, motivating type of envy though
so perhaps jealousy is to negative a spin maybe I should go with a sense of awe at abilities I wish to cultivate. 
Thank you so much for writing this and letting us put it up on our site!
September 14th, 2007 at 10:27 am
You’re welcome, of course
You’re already my second biggest traffic generator outside of social bookmarking/search engines… you never know, this one might bump you into first place (my biggest is from a different guest article I wrote, my first… you’re my second). And if it does, maybe you’ll have helped me reach my current goal of 100 subscribers (my current high is 63… down a few from that today).
September 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Its a stupendous idea to invite guest bloggers. This enables regular writers to step back and take in the world through a different set of glasses. Thanks for sharing these views on motivation. They remind us that more positive experiences are available to us any time we choose.
By the way, Catherine marie Morgan has also invited guests on her uplifting blog “Be the Change you wish to see in yourself.” I link her on my blogroll. I encourage you to check out reflections on this site.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I tend to be a self-starter, which means I’m inwardly motivated, so this article was refreshing. Thanks to you all.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
PS I will go to your blog, Jason, and subscribe. Thanks for mentioning it.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Jason,
Oops! It turns out I’ve already subscribed. Can’t help you with your getting to 100.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
You’re welcome… of course my guest post is the least commented article on Jenny and Erin’s site. Why is it that you nearly always get a nice amount of comments, and I generally get 2 or 3?
September 18th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
On the contrary, Jean, if you’re a subscriber you’re already helping me get there
September 18th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Perhaps your thoroughness leaves nothing to comment on? Yes, that’s it, you need to be sloppier in your writing, Jason. Leave some holes, or just make some plain outrageous statements to people have something to pick on.
On a serious note, great revision of this important topic. Since I have trouble maintaining internal motivation I’d love to read what you’d have to say on finding your internal motivations, and on sustaining them when they fade (or finding ones that won’t fade, or changing so that they won’t fade).
September 18th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I’m not quite sure I like what you’re implying there Mark… :p Sloppy writing, outrageous statements and such…jeez!
September 19th, 2007 at 2:03 am
Oh dear, bit of a faux pas there wasn’t it? I was definitely not making a comment about your posts at all dear Jenny, nor Erin’s, though now I can see it would inevitably be taken that way.
My face and pie have just become well acquainted
September 19th, 2007 at 4:40 am
ha, ha! I really didn’t take it that way…just a rare chance to give you a hard time.
I adore you Mark, no pie necessary!
Plus, I do think Mark is onto something there Jason. You do a great job addressing the questions in your posts seldom leaving much else to say.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:38 am
*whine mode on*
But I want people to comment… I want conversation, not to give a speech.
*whine mode off*
I actually have written some about finding internal motivation, but I will write another article soon to expand on it a little and include links to some of my older posts on the topic.
Stay tuned!
On a side note, seriously, being close to my goal of one hundred subscribers makes me more and more aware of it… it’s annoying, I wish I wouldn’t think quite so much about it.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Jason, way to put your goal out there. Just like Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision the universe conspires to make it happen.” Hey, and look, your number of comments on your post is rising quickly. See, two great things are happening!
September 20th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Yes, the number of comments on my site has definitely been increasing lately. I hope that soon I’ll have more commenters, too. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE hearing regularly from the same people, it’s just nice to have some new people adding to the mix sometimes, too.
Oh, and I’m up to 80 subscribers… I’m getting close!
September 26th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Just thought I’d come back and let anyone know who cares that I passed 100 subscribers!
By one, but hey… I did it!
September 26th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Congratulations, Jason!
September 27th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Way to go Jason!
October 5th, 2007 at 6:47 am
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