Motivation is one of those things that can be very hard to harness effectively. I think we all struggle at times to find that excitement to do some things that are necessary for our work or our life without dreading them too much and was trying to find I guess the time and space to maybe if not enjoy those processes at least try to get them done and so I think often of motivation and, Two terms external motivation so motivation that's driven by external forces so that could be things like approval of someone like your boss for example external motivation can be things like money so I want to do something because I want to make money external motivation can come from kind of social pressure so I want to do something because my family wants me to do it because my friends want me to do it that's kind of that peer pressure idea, but I think the most valuable motivation that you can cultivate.
And I do think you can cultivate this is internal motivation that inward drive that fire that excitement that passion that love for something that you want to do and that will really get you through some of the toughest most laborious parts of whatever and ever whatever goal is that you have in order to achieve that goal or that end.
So it really just comes down to individual choice. I think motivation is driven by choice whether we like to acknowledge that or not, our motivations are our chosen by us or are the work that we do is chosen by us so we can choose to do something out of an object a sense of obligation we can choose to do something because of some external reward or we can also choose to do something more actively with a little bit more agency and autonomy we can choose something because I want to do that even if it's something we really don't like, To do it just helps reframe what you're doing so that it doesn't seem like it's something coming from the outside but something coming from the inside now.
I'm not so much a fool to believe that everything you do is somehow gonna be driven by internal motivation, but if you find yourself in a position where the external drivers these external forces are pushing you to do something that you just don't want to do and you have the, Freedom or the autonomy or the agency to actually make a choice that doesn't impact your livelihood or your well-being then it you can suddenly start to flip the script on some of these obligations and you can start thinking of them less as I have to do this and more as I choose to do this because I want to do this and if you can't find what that want is maybe it's time to let let it go, maybe it's time to let that feeling of obligation leave you.
I, When it's finding that internal internal motivation when you found that excitement, I think that can really help guide you along life's path it can really make help you make hard decisions whether that's choosing what to focus on and college whether that's a choosing what job to take if you have multiple offers, but that's choose to move somewhere date someone or just to have something for breakfast lunch or dinner.
I think that excitement that sense of fun can really be a guiding light. And so I always encourage my students and the people around me to pursue that passion pursue that love pursue that sense of joy and wonder because that can lead you to the the a place where your internal motivation comes naturally.
There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to motivation it's just about how you frame those decisions so find that guiding light find that joy in that excitement pursue those paths and when you look back make sure you're framing those decisions in ways that showcase the benefits of what you've done.
