When you decide to start going to the gym, do you do it because you have to, or because you enjoy working out? If you’re just forcing yourself to do it for the reward, it may be counterproductive.
As advice site Afford Anything explains, there are two types of motivation you can use to reach a goal: intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when you hate doing something, but you have an external reason to do it. You don’t like working out, but you want to lose weight, so you force yourself to grudgingly go through the motions. Intrinsic motivation, however, occurs when you go to the gym simply because you enjoy the thrill of working out:
Research shows (and workout enthusiasts know) that exercise is brimming with inherent benefits: lower stress, higher endorphins, better sleep. But if you’re preoccupied with the scale, you might overlook these intrinsic benefits. You’ve re-framed exercise as a means to an end, a delivery vehicle for results, rather than as an activity meant to be enjoyed for its own sake.
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Two-thirds of people do not believe this vital truth about motivation.
If you want the job done well, offer a bonus — or so the common belief goes.
In fact, psychological research often shows the opposite.
When psychologists test the effects of using rewards, they find something strange.
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Apathetic from Fiona O'Malley on Vimeo.
