Back on the horse

Have you ever made plans and written down some things you wanted to accomplish and then tucked them out of sight and they became "out of sight -out of mind?" Or made new resolutions to make life changes and found that another year has rolled on by with the resolutions still unrealized?

why do we do this?

is it for lack of dreams and plans? is it for lack of good intentions? is it for lack of desire and need? is it for lack of discipline and fortitude? Is it our own fears?

while these could certainly be factors contributing to unrealized resolutions... I think the question of personal motivation is the key to understanding why we accomplish certain things and let other things languish.

I recently read an article entitled "How Learners Are Motivated" by Matthew S. Richter. In the article Mr. Richter explains and argues quite eloquently (in a training context) that for people learning or adopting new information, the best and most effective way is by tapping into internal intrinsic motivation.

Society (our parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, & peers) has a built into us the notion that the most effective way that we accomplish as new task is through external pressures and rewards. i.e. if you behave or work hard then you will get a cookie or a new toy or a gold star.

What happens when we take away these outside influences? when the boss at work is not riding our backs, or the guilt trip our friends and family put on us to eat better wares off and losses it's power?

Does the work diminish and unhealthy eating habits return? Mr. Richter's research indicates so. I know that all I have to do is take an honest look at my own life to see that this is so.

How many times have I vowed to really learn to speak French? As much contact as I had with it as a kid and my years in college, I could be fluent, alas those external motivations have been removed and I am not. What worked for me to pass my classes did not stick.

So how can I determine whether what I'm doing is out of external motivation or internal?

Mr. Mathew Richter breaks motivation down like this:

External Motivation(the obvious forces outside of our selves)
• Money

• Bonus

• Punishment
• Praise

Internal and Extrinsic Motivation

this part gets a little tricky and it it what we battle with inside (when these internal pressures are removed does motivation cease?)

• Guilt
• Ego Gratification
• Seeing the Value of
a Task

Internal and Intrinsic (this is the fuel that sustains real learning and growth)
• When you have a
passion for
performing a task.
• When you perform
a task for the sheer
pleasure of it.
• When you freely
choose to perform
a task.

The key is to evaluate why you are doing what you are doing or why you are making the resolutions you are. Ask yourself if you have the support in place to move you from initial external motivation to intrinsic motivation that will sustain the change or learning you seek!

I'm taking a second look at what my real motivations are for learning to speak French.

I challenge you to take a second look at the resolutions you have made. with the right support you can move from being externally motivated to internally intrinsically motivated.

Now you know how to get back on the horse and ride your resolutions a reality!

by the way you can check out Matthew S. Richter at www.thiagi.com