Motivation Comes in Several Varieties

Ethereal or Misfiled? Motivation is elusive isn't it?!

It's utterly intangible, but without it there is something stopping you in achieving any short, medium or longer term goals.

You, like me, might be glad to hear that there isn't one type of motivation. So if you think you're missing it, then it's more likely you've misfiled it.

Essentially, motivation is either intrinsic or extrinsic. The intrinsic variety comes from deeply held beliefs, association and satisfaction.The extrinsic comes in 4 varieties, with each being dependent on the outcome and approach taken. Understand this and you have your motivation nailed.

Here goes:

External Motivation

  • You are being driven by an outside force.
  • The outcome will be a reward or a penalty.
  • You do something because you have to do it.


Introjected Motivation

  • You act in order to avoid guilt, pressure or anxiety.
  • If you didn't do something you would feel guilty.


Identified Motivation

  • You do something because you can see why it is important.
  • That said, you will not necessarily enjoy it.


Integrated Motivation

  • You do something because you fully subscribe to the values underlying it.
  • It's very much part of you and your beliefs.


It's a Sliding Scale
Having read this, you may realise that you are being motivated in some shape or form in many aspects of your life already.

Perhaps, over time, the trick may be to move along this sliding scale from external to more integrated or intrinsic forms of motivation where the fundamentally important and rewarding things reside and to leave parking tickets to the external variety.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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