December 28, 2019 | by David March.
Conventional thinking when it comes to careers is to go to school. Get educated. Then, get a stable job at a large corporate company all while paying off your huge college debt. You work at the same job for 30 years, get married, and retire at 65. Then, during retirement search for what makes you happy. Why wait until the end to find what makes you happy. Where is the focus on the individual’s happiness earlier in life? More and more people yearn to do work they have a passion for.
Simon Sinek states – “…working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress, working hard for something we love is called passion.”
What’s the difference? The motivation. But what kind of motivation? Intrinsic motivation. Let’s look at this as it relates to the hero’s journey. The task of the hero is to claim one’s own life and place in the world instead of having one’s life and place in the world determined by others. The motivation of the hero is said to be intrinsic.
This is a definition of intrinsic and extrinsic from an article by Tom Rath– Co-creator of StrengthsFinder 2.0 which I referenced my article about personality assessments.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation and Career Goals
Extrinsic motivation can be when you do something to receive a reward or some benefit. You might take a new job because of the higher pay and better benefits package. It can be when you do something or perform a task because of outside influence, be it a boss, an institution, or an agency.
Intrinsic motivation is deep and powerful; it comes from within. For example, consider a teacher who is inspired by the growth of a student or a doctor who is driven by improving health. Intrinsic motivation stems from the meaningfulness of the work you do. You are driven by what you yearn to do even if there is no reward or compensation. The thrill is in the hunt; for a better way, an easier solution, or for a new path.
Intrinsic motivation and Its Goals
Let’s take drumming as an example of an intrinsic goal. Playing in a group can build a relationship with others. Playing new rhythms, being able to play faster, being adaptable enough to change rhythms quickly, and being able to keep the beat or leave space for other musicians are all signs of personal growth in drumming. If you’re doing this hobby with others you have known for a while, it increases the happiness exponentially with each person involved.
| Intrinsic | Extrinsic |
|---|---|
| Learning to play the drums because you enjoy making music with it. | Learning to play the drums because you want the prize money the contest is offering. |
Conversely, let’s say you’re a travelling musician or a new artist playing gigs everywhere you can. You’re not getting paid enough to play. You could be happy just introducing your talent to the masses, but you are struggling to make ends meet.
The Secret of Effective Motivation
This being said, the secret of effective motivation is intrinsic. In an article in the New York Times precisely titled, “The secret of effective motivation.” The article talks about how Yale’s Amy Wrzesniewski and her team followed 11,320 West Point military cadets and assessed their motives for attending the academy over a 14-year period.
In her article she states, “Our study suggests that efforts should be made to structure activities so that instrumental consequences [extrinsic goals] do not become motives. Helping people focus on the meaning and impact of their work, rather than on, say, the financial returns it will bring, may be the best way to improve not only the quality of their work but also — counter-intuitive though it may seem — their financial success.”
Not only is it the best way to create motivation, it will also make you happier.
Intrinsic Motivation Leads to More Happiness
In the film, “Happy,” Psychology Professor Tim Kasser brings up the two basic types of goals we have as human beings: intrinsic and extrinsic. He notes that people with intrinsic career goals are concerned with “personal growth, creating and sustaining relationships and desire to help the community. [They] report being happier, having more vitality, and feeling less depression and anxiety…Intrinsic career goals are inherently satisfying in and of themselves. They have to do with intrinsic psychological needs that we all, as people, have.” (Happy, film, 2011)
He contrasts this with extrinsic goals such as, “money, image, and status goals, which we all want to some degree. But people that are more oriented to money, image, and status tend to report ‘less satisfaction with their lives,’ they were more depressed and anxious, they felt less vitality and less energized in their day-to-day life.” (Happy, film, 2011)
From the above references, you can see that intrinsic career goals will make you happier than extrinsic goals. The motivation comes from inside you, and now you want to bring that motivation to your work. It becomes a passion or dream career.
Focusing on Extrinsic Career Goals Can Lead to Burn-Out
For many people, it is simply working too many hours for too little money and feeling like they are not building their empire. Overworking themselves or working in an environment they don’t really like for money to just pay off debts, or working to “keep up with the Jones” in order to live up to image or social status requirements. This leads to burn-out.
It could be, then, that we as a people are so wrapped up in meeting these extrinsic career goals that we do not make the time to achieve our intrinsic career goals. Or, we simply disregard our intrinsic career goals. These can be enriching one’s personal growth, having hobbies, building relationships, and desiring to help the community. Instead, we tend to achieve extrinsic career goals such as earning money or gaining image, social status, or popularity.
The key here, particularly as it relates to your career, is not to take a career because it’s safe, secure, or simply because it has good benefits and great pay. Those are instrumental consequences; they should not be motivations. Understanding the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation means that although you may like to wear gold watches and have the big house, five cars, pool, etc… When you make that the motivation it tends to fall short.
Define Your Mission and Purpose
It’s a mindset shift, and it comes down to your mission and purpose.
The Ideal career is something you love doing, you are great at, the world needs it and you are paid well for it.
To find your path is to find meaning in your work. This is done when the work is fulfilling in and of itself. It responds to your individuality. This is difficult mainly because we are not taught in school about individuation. Finding our skills, and taught that we are unique, different and of equal inherent value.
We all have a mission in life and pursuing that makes us feel fulfilled. However, it can be difficult to put that into what makes money. For most of us, it’s not easy going inside finding out what you want out of our career. The key is taking action. The greatest risk is the risk of riskless living. Deciding and actually putting your money where your mouth is.
Investing in yourself or your business or advancing your personality, skills or simply re-inventing yourself. It’s up to you.
Schedule a discovery call and achieve your goals faster with a road-map to success. I can create the strategy and accountability for you to make progress in your career journey.
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