The two types of motivation and how to choose the better one:
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Hello friend! 👋
There are only 8 weeks left in 2024, and it may be tempting to ‘write these off’ to start fresh in the new year.
You could do that. Or you could choose to finish the year strong.
(which means you’ll need much motivation)
Here’s how to focus on the right type of motivation and a simple way to activate it.
Let’s dive straight in.
1. Build awareness
(define the concept)
Positive psychology defines motivation as the desire to move forward on an action in pursuit of a goal.
It divides them into two parts:
Intrinsic motivation: stemming from internal drives that are personal. Think: doing things for the sake of doing them. Example: an artists creating a piece of work for their love of beauty.
Extrinsic motivation: stemming from external drives (sometimes put by others). Example: Studying for a degree because others think it’s valuable.
Different research converges on one point: if you want to achieve lasting happiness, you want to focus on intrinsic motivators rather than extrinsic ones.
2. Make these choices:
(decisions/actions to bring it to life)
Keep a reflective journaling practice to strengthen self-awareness.
Take the values-in-action survey to know character strengths.
Spend less time comparing and more time discovering your unique motivators.
3. Build them in a system:
(using the science of habit and willpower to make it consistent)
Keep a consistent journaling practice:
Assign a specific time you’ll journal daily (I like to do it first thing and last thing in the day)
Aim for daily reflection; try not to skip two days in a row.
Keep it simple and personal (for example, use bullet points vs. free writing if that’s easier for you)
Use questions as prompts to reflect on.
Examples:
• What is one thing I can do today that can create the biggest impact on my happiness? Why would it have the biggest impact?• If I don’t need to do anything today, what will I choose to do? Why?
Motivation can be created from momentum as much as motivation contributes to creating that momentum.
Thanks for reading!
Have a Super Sunday! ⚡️
With much joy,
Hashim
PS. From my experience, guided journals offer the best approach to building these habits.
For this reason, I am developing a journal that covers all the points I talk about here and packages it in a step-by-step process that is both simple and fun (so it can be consistent).
Click here if you want to be the first to get notified when this is available.