Motivation is an enormous part of athletics. Turning to your sources of motivation during times of difficulty will help you push yourself to overcome adversity and achieve your goals. It’s important that you analyze what motivates you, because each source has different qualities that can be of benefit to you. There are basically two types of motivation: external and internal.
External Motivators
External sources are those that come from outside of you. Such sources are: money, fame, validation, whatever. You may read a story of a phenomenal person who achieved great things, despite tremendous hardships, so you push yourself to achieve similar things. They’re great for quick bursts of energy.
However, in my opinion, external motivators are not as good as internal motivators. External ones are pretty much beyond our control: we can’t give ourselves trophies or awards. We depend on others for those goals, and if we don’t achieve them, it can severely hinder our success. It also tends to be very fleeting. Once we achieve that motivational goal (such as money), what happens next?
In short, external motivators are great for short bursts of energy, but they don’t provide for the long haul. We also can’t control whether or not we reach our goal, which can leave us disappointed.
Internal Motivators
Since external motivators were those that came from outside sources, it makes sense that internal motivators are those that come from inside ourselves. Internal motivators are those such as: love of the activity, improving your athletic ability, overcoming adversity, etc. You get up every day and lift weights, because you love the process of improving your strength. These sources are great for the long run, however they typically don’t provide much short term energy.
In short, internal motivators don’t provide much short term energy, but they keep us going for the long haul. We also can control whether or not we work towards achieving these goals: if you love weight lifting and you continue to lift, you have achieved your goal.
Another way to think about them…
External motivators are like running sprints for training, and internal motivators are like running long distances for training. Either one by itself has its downside. It’s best to have a combination of the two.
So, what does this mean for me?
Here’s what it means: you need to examine what motivates you and see whether its an external or internal source. Use a combination of the two, since either extreme has its disadvantages. We all have days when we just don’t feel like working out, why not read a great story for a quick burst of energy to keep on track? Or when you don’t win an award, realize that it doesn’t matter all that much. You love competing in your sport, regardless of whether you get any money or fame for it.
What motivates you?
Mark Cuban has this great post on his blog called Success and Motivation:
http://blogmaverick.com/2007/12/24/success-and-motivation/
It always gets me really fired up. Although I think I tend to focus too much on external motivators and not enough on internal ones. Something I need to work on.
Anyway, great post man.