How To Boost Your Intrinsic Motivation: When The Reward Is You

Enhancing intrinsic motivation means starting to enjoy what we set out to do without seeking any other reward than the pleasure of a job well done (intrinsic pleasure). The simple execution of this activity already reinforces us, gratifies us and motivates us. Time usually flies by when we are immersed in our goals, there are no external pressures and everything flows better.

We all know the benefits of orienting our mental focus towards this type of motivation. However, we continue to educate children in the reward, in the reinforcement or in that promised gift. Sometimes growing up expecting a reward for every effort you make means overlooking the mere delight of a job well done and even monitoring your own performance.

We forget that we came into the world being curious. The pleasure of discovering has, as a reinforcement, a very special nature. The goal should be to grow, the grades are just an incentive. The original purpose is to learn. It is not strange that we feel good when we are aligned with him. However, it is still true that intervening intelligently on motivation is not an easy goal. Factors such as stress, low self-efficacy and the environment that surrounds us can mediate its weakening. We analyze it.

Keys to boost your intrinsic motivation

Much of our behavior is goal-driven. We guide our daily behavior to achieve something: a salary, a promotion, a recognition, etc. Now, this is not against the simple pleasure “of doing things well”, of looking at the process and not so much at the final goal.

In fact, only when we put all the attention in the process, the performance improves and we always give the best of ourselves. Thus, those who limit themselves to looking up thinking only of the final reward will run the risk of making mistakes, of offering something of low quality. This forces you, yes or yes, to enhance your intrinsic motivation to prosper and develop personally and professionally.

In an increasingly changing social environment, only this type of motivation will allow you to take advantage to obtain benefit (Ryan and Deci, 2017). So let’s see how to achieve it.

Deci and Ryan’s theory of self-determination of motivation (2008)

The theory of self-determination tells us that people are born curious and self-motivated. However, as Deci and Ryan explain in a study, our environments alienate us, make us apathetic, mechanical and turn us off motivation. 

What can we do about this?

• We must reformulate our goals and objectives. As far as possible, it is necessary to get involved in tasks that are meaningful to us, that excite us and give us meaning.
• Another aspect of great importance is autonomy. Perceiving that we have control over what we do, that we have a certain margin of freedom to work, decide and act is highly valuable. It is another variable that will allow you to enhance your intrinsic motivation.

• Sense of progress. Once you get involved in a project, discipline or task it is important that you perceive progress. This effective day-to-day performance injects energy into your self-esteem and thereby increases your self-efficacy. Thus, little by little your enjoyment is activated when you see that you are doing something interesting that you are good at and that allows you to develop.

The light in the middle of the forest: be unique in the middle of the crowd knowing what your purpose is

To boost your intrinsic motivation, you must reformulate your purposes to find one that defines you, that makes you stand out in the crowd. One of the reasons why we lose motivation and limit ourselves to working for external goals is boredom, dissolving ourselves in normative scenarios full of the same people.

We just do the same as the rest because that is what we have been educated for. It is in this way that we sink into routine and lose focus, we stray from our potential. However, we can all make valuable contributions to our environment.

Commitment and resistance to frustration to boost your intrinsic motivation

To boost your intrinsic motivation you need persistence, commitment and resistance to frustration skills. You have set goals that motivate you, but there are days when mistakes and failures appear and suddenly you perceive that you are not moving forward. Is it time to give up? Not at all, because this type of psychological approach also defines resistance and optimism.

When self-confidence is strong, frustration does not block or induce abandonment; Rather the complete opposite. In the face of any mistake, that stubbornness typical of self-sufficient and meticulous people is activated who do not back down, who learn from the failure and monitor their behavior to improve it.

To conclude, we are always in time to make changes, to activate that internal motor that will allow us to see ourselves as the best reward on this journey when it comes to achieving goals.