What Motivates You?

Wow, I’m full of open-ended questions this month! My thoughts tend to come and go in clusters; hence the focus on running a few weeks ago and the current focus on WHY we do what we do (or why we don’t do things).

So, how are you motivated? If you were to make a list of goals, one goal might be to lose weight. Why do you want to lose weight?

Common answers:

• To be a healthy parent / set a good example
• To live longer
• To win big in the office weight-loss pool
• To become healthier and no longer need diabetes/blood pressure/etc. medicines
• To lose more weight than my friend

Which of these apply to you, and do you notice a theme?

What is motivation?

Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals.

What's your carrot?

Why does it matter?

If you know what drives you to reach your goals, you can create better SMART goals and help motivate yourself.

To keep this from turning into a Psych 101 lecture I’m going to hone-in on two major concepts of motivation: intrinsic versus extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation occurs because the task you’re doing brings you pleasure or you think what you’re doing is important/significant (AKA internal motivation).

Extrinsic motivation occurs when external factors compel you do so something, like money, good grades, coercion or competition (AKA external motivation).

Back to the list of “why do you want to lose weight” answers:

• To be a healthy parent / set a good example (intrinsic, you value your children’s health)
• To live longer (intrinsic, you value your health)
• To win big in the office weight-loss pool (extrinsic, money is the motivator)
• To become healthier and no longer need diabetes/blood pressure/etc. medicines (intrinsic, you feel it’s important to decrease your medication use OR extrinsic if you’re only interested in saving money)
• To lose more weight than my friend (extrinsic, you’re in it for the competition).

Competitive eating can be a form of intrinsic motivation if you REALLY love pie, right?

 Source

It’s not necessarily a good or bad thing to be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Many of us will be motivated intrinsically to eat more vegetables but need extrinsic motivation to work harder on the job. If you’re not reaching your goals it is important to sit back and ask yourself why, especially if the goal is important to you. You may be in a different stage of change than you thought, or the reward may not be enough motivation for you to work towards the goal.

Would you like assistance creating SMART goals or determining which stage of change you’re currently in? Contact me at See Me Fit for customized fitness plans, coaching sessions and many other customized goal-oriented plans.