Internal motivation is strong, resilient, and can last a lifetime. You are the one that chooses to get out of bed in the morning. You are the one who pushes yourself through torturous workouts. You are the one goes as hard as you can, no matter if you’re first or last.
External motivation may only be temporary, weak, and it can be taken away in an instant – no one can take internal motivation away from you.
Life motivation comes in many different forms. Some people are motivated only by money. Others are motivated by their family and friends. Some let the fear of failure motivate to succeed. And others’ ultimate motivation is the pursuit of mastery of sport and skill. The truth is that no one is driven by just one thing in particular; individuals are motivated by a combination of factors. But it is important to know what your primary motivation is, what you think of, who you reach out to, and what motivates you when you are at the bottom of your deepest, darkest hole.
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Internal motivation is all inside your own head. People – not just athletes – who are internally motivated view ‘success’ as being happy, improving their self-worth, and doing their job simply because they love doing it.
Architects who sketch futuristic buildings in their free time; cyclists who get up at 5:30 to get their sprint workout in before work; and soccer players who stay after practice and work on their juggling skills – these are all examples of people and athletes who are externally motivated. They keep working hard because they don’t see their job as “work”; they see it as their passion.
The 14 year-old who goes to the soccer field and practices shooting in the pouring rain, is he externally motivated? No. There is no one taking pictures, no coaches praising him, no colleges scouting him, and no there to see if he succeeds or fails. These are the hours spent in practice that truly matter. When most people are sitting at home and doing nothing, what will you be doing, scrolling through Instagram? Or will you be out on that soccer field, practicing, and improving, while no one else is?
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Externally motivation people see success as measured by others – ‘success’ is earning a raise or winning prize money, as earning a trophy or an “Employee of the Month” picture on the wall, or as a pat-on-the-back from your coach or boss. Externally motivated people need praise to justify their efforts. If they don’t receive the praise they were looking for, they are unlikely to work just as hard the next time. This is the problem with external motivation: it relies on too many people and factors outside of your control.
Without a constant source of praise, externally motivated people will struggle to keep motivated. Whether it is typing up a progress report or smashing out a 5-hour training ride, there are times when we will have to suffer in solitude – those who are externally motivated are doomed to fail. The internally motivated will learn to push through the pain and get the job done, and they will be more successful – and feel better about themselves– than their externally motivated counterparts.
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Here’s the important part: internal motivation can last forever, it is stronger than external motivation, and no one can take it away from you. When you are deep in the pain cave – in life or in sport – you can grab onto your internal motivation, and I guarantee it will pull you out. Internal motivation gets you through the dark times, when there is no one there to help, and you have been suffering too much for too long. Remember why you are here in the first place – is it to give up, accept failure, and just move on? Or is it to keep fighting, give it everything you have, and see if you have what it takes to succeed?
I know my answer.