Intrinsic Motivation - The Solution?

Writers, by nature, are observers of people, behaviors, and personalities. Personally, I am intrigued by individual reactions to various circumstances, existential factors, problems, and interactions. Lately, my view of the world today could best be described as stoic, numb, complacent, ambivalent, and angry. Initially, I thought my assertion was contained within my inner circle; however, I was wrong.  

I believe part of our societal “Stepford Wife” existence stems from “the pandemic years”. A dark time where fear permeated our existence, seclusion became our norm, and our “give a damn gave up”. It doesn’t take exhaustive research, peer group findings or a so-called “rocket scientist” to notice a paradigm shift has taken place.

I kept asking myself, “What is really going on?” Everyone seems to be content living a day to day, survival mode existence. Just then, out of the blue, one two-word phrase captured my attention, Intrinsic Motivation. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but for some reason I needed to learn more. What I discovered became my light bulb moment.

Daniel Pink’s theory explains that Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose are the intrinsic ideals that drive individuals to seek, accomplish and pursue goals for the sheer sake of doing it rather than simply responding to dangling reward bait or fear of punishment. The more I learned, the more I recognized Intrinsic Motivation was missing from most of our lives.

• Autonomy: Humans want; no, I take that back, humans need to direct and control their work and home life balance; not be controlled by it. We desire to be trusted and encouraged to rethink the so-called “rules” and abolish the “this is the way it’s always been done mindset”. When permitted to think, question and yes, offer “out of the box ideas”, we thrive.

• Mastery: We have a desire to improve. Challenging situations combined with empowerment, serve to motivate, inspire, and foster ambition. Mastery is a desire driven by an inner passion propelled to improve knowledge, skills, talents, and abilities.

• Purpose: Desire for something meaningful and bigger than ourselves. The bottom line is that we want to have a positive impact somewhere along the line and make a difference. It’s no secret that purpose is the driving factor behind success.  

I am convinced the lack of Intrinsic Motivation is partially responsible for my aforementioned view.  While we can’t change everything overnight, we can strive to incorporate a few principles of Intrinsic Motivation into our individual lives.

• Keep an open mind and look for ways to help, uplift and motivate others.

• Encourage friends and co-workers to set and pursue specific goals; and allow them to do the same for you.

• Listen more, speak less. Supporting open communication and debate (not arguments), helps eliminate the fear of retribution for speaking up, prevents harboring anger, and dissatisfaction.

For me, the time has come to refuse to continue to live a “Stepford Wife” existence. Although there are certain rules, protocols and conformities that affect my daily routine, I realize my goals, success, and pursuits are only forfeited if I choose to willingly give up control of my future aspirations. Just as defeatism is contagious, so is optimism!