Managing and Sustaining Motivation
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Reflection: What Motivates You?
If you have thought about these questions before, the answers might come easily. But there is also a possibility that you do not have answers to some of the questions, or perhaps that you are not sure of your answers. What is the impact of not having answers to these questions? As you think about this, let’s learn more about motivation.
As mentioned in the video, motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic:
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Extrinsic Motivation
Motivation that is initiated by external forces. For example, you might be motivated to study and get good grades because it is the expectation of your parents and family. This could further be connected to positive or negative consequences. A negative consequence as motivation might be that your educational fees stop being sponsored if you perform poorly, while a positive motivation might be that you win a cash award for exemplary performance.
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Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation that comes from within ourselves. This could be other interests or factors that influence feelings of self-fulfillment and self-realization. With intrinsic motivation, you perform a task because you enjoy doing it and are committed to it without the need for an external award or punishment.
According to Daniel Pink, the components of intrinsic motivation can be described as:
- Autonomy: The urge to direct our own lives
- Mastery: The desire to get better at something that matters
- Purpose: The yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves
How to Maintain Motivation When Learning
Self-motivation is the ability to find and maintain a cause that drives you toward action. In learning, motivation enables us to take charge of our own learning and to sustain our attention and performance. Here are some more ways to maintain motivation in learning which revolve around the 3 factors mentioned by Daniel Pink above (i.e., autonomy, mastery, and purpose):
- Set and work towards clear goals: Goals motivate us. They give us something to reach for. When your goals are clear and SMART, they are even more motivating because you can see them ahead. We are goal-driven as humans, so setting goals for your learning helps you to tap into that part of your humanity that is goal-seeking.
- Connect your learning goals to long-term purpose: Learning is always for a purpose. The purpose for which we learn might differ from one person to another. However, if you are able to identify a longer-term purpose, such as a career (e.g., your goal might be to work in the world’s biggest technology company in the next 5 years), then aligning your current learning goals to this purpose will help you sustain your motivation even when the learning gets difficult.
- Go beyond just meeting expectations: Striving only to meet expectations is not enough. Striving for excellence is much more worthwhile because the expectations set by someone else have limits, but striving for excellence allows you the freedom to do the very best that you can.
- Take ownership of your learning: We have emphasized the importance of taking responsibility for your learning and owning your learning journey. We tend to be more motivated when we can function independently and learn according to our interests, passions, and desires.
- Adopt a Growth Mindset: A growth mindset says, “I am not there ‘yet’”. This kind of mindset shows you there is space for growth, and the possibility of growth and improvement in itself is a motivating factor.