Forget the carrots and sticks: Internal motivation is the key to success

What motivates you to perform? Are you motivated to master skills and tasks in and of themselves, or do you mostly want to impress? Do you strive for success, or focus on avoiding failure? Scientists have discovered that the nature of our motivation to perform influences our performance.

Top performers love what they do

Often when we think of top performers, we think of people who are motivated to be the best – and who are well-recognized as such. Take professional sports: Teams are constantly competing with one another, and fame and glory await those who come out on top. A large body of research on human motivation, however, suggests that most of us – top athletes included – will perform at our best when we’re motivated from within. Internal motivation basically means we enjoy what we’re doing, or think it’s valuable, and we want to master it. On the opposite end of the motivational spectrum, we might see little inherent value in our pursuit and are only doing it to look good or be rewarded, e.g. with a nice raise. A particular trouble-maker, in terms of its impact on performance, is motivation to avoid looking bad. If you’re doing something mostly to save face, chances are, you’ll avoid doing it, do the bare minimum, or hate it while you’re doing it. Not exactly a recipe for success, at least in the long-term. So when you take on that next project, take a moment to reflect: Why am I doing this? What’s my motivation? You might be surprised by what you answer.

Internal motivation versus external rewards

But wait – what about all those top-performing athletes, professionals, businesspeople, who so clearly relish the spoils of their victories? Are you trying to say they’re not primarily motivated by (millions of) dollar bills and social gravitas? And what about me? For me a bonus or formal recognition is hugely motivating! We hear you! Who doesn’t like to get some extra cash, a promotion, or even a nice meal in return for a job well done? Recognition and rewards are nice, and they do influence our behavior. But psychologists have researched human motivation for decades. The findings are clear: while external rewards like pay can increase performance, internal motivation is generally found to be more important for success. So assuming your basic needs of food/water/shelter are met, internal motivation will give you the most, and most sustainable, bang for your buck in terms of performance impact. A desire to impress or to be rewarded might not hurt, but those external motivations only last so long before something more compelling (or even just distracting) takes priority.

The inner workings of success

Now that we know internal motivation has a strong bottom-line impact on performance, what makes this form of motivation so powerful? Research suggests that it leads us to manage our behaviors more effectively, especially when there aren’t carrots and sticks to constantly guide us. When we find an activity to be inherently valuable, we are more likely to seek and use feedback, monitor our progress, relish achievements, and demonstrate resilience against setbacks. We don’t need to rely on carrots and sticks. We pursue our goals regardless of external circumstances. The more engaged we are and the better we are at working toward something, the more likely we are the stick with it to completion. This is especially important for more difficult, abstract, or longer-term aspirations -- we need to be compelled and feel intrinsically rewarded along the way to stick it out til the end. Because according to research in the science of performance, practice really does make perfect. Think of intrinsic motivation as a motivational energizer bunny – it keeps going and going…

Finding and increasing internal motivation

1. If you’re struggling to feel motivated or you’re unhappy with your performance, it might be time for a motivational self-assessment. Try asking yourself the following regarding the task or activity in question:Why am I doing this?
2. What values or overarching goals does this satisfy for me?
3. Am I worried about saving face?
4. (if yes) How is this impacting my experience and approach?

If internal motivation is lacking, there are many options for increasing it.

Change your mindset

Let’s say you took on an additional project (even though you’re feeling overwhelmed) so you could make some extra money or make your boss happy. This doesn’t mean you can’t be internally motivated, per se. Try tying the financial reward to something that’s valuable to you. Are you doing it to support your family? To save up for something that’s really important to you? Identify or remind yourself of the value in what you’re doing – whether for your own needs or for others – and experience the invigoration that results. 

Positive self-talk

“I hate doing this.” “This is pointless.” Do these thoughts sound familiar? If so, we’re glad you’re reading this, because they are a huge barrier to internal motivation. Do some prescription – this is similar to changing your mindset, but starts from the bottom-up with your everyday thoughts versus contemplating the overarching value in the activity. Take time to think about all the good things about what you’re doing (e.g., impact on the company, things you like about it), and jot them down or commit them to memory. When you notice a negative thought creeping in, follow it with one of your positive statements. This will help “neutralize” the demotivating effects of negative thinking. You can also use some positive self-talk at regular interims, or before you start working. Most of us have to do things we don’t like, and many of us may also have to do things that seem pointless. But a little positive talk can go a long way toward helping us get these things done better, faster, and more enjoyably than we can under a raincloud of negative thoughts.

Adjust the activity to suit your needs

This is a great option for people who have some flexibility in how they approach the task in question, e.g. people with lots of freedoms at work. If you don’t like how you’re doing something, try changing your approach! Let’s say you are charged with writing email communications for your department, and you find the task dull and unrewarding – you find yourself wondering if anyone even reads the emails. Generate internal motivation for the task by infusing it with something you do like doing, like adding a fun quote at the end, or creating a way for others to post comments. Or, take a poll of your department – if no one actually reads the emails, maybe they’re not the best way to distribute information. Taking ownership of something is a sure way to increase motivation.

Internal motivation makes you awesome!

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of chasing external rewards or people-pleasing. While there’s nothing wrong with being recognized and rewarded for being awesome, we suggest that you focus first on what YOU enjoy and value about your pursuits, and on impressing yourself versus creating the “appearance of success.” Science suggests you’ll be all the more awesome for it.

LOOKING to make your workplace awesome and enhance your employees engagement and productivity ASK LIVZO. 

Nataliia Karpenko, CEO, Founder at Livzo