motivation

External Vs Internal – A classic motivational struggle

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Theme parks are designed to be funInteresting post on Seth’s blog a while back.

He’s commenting on one of my key themes: External motivation versus internal motivation. He doesn’t go into the topic at length of course, that’s not his blogging style. He likes short and pithy and he is the best in the world at it.

He just ends the post with this and it struck me.

“The nature of our new economic system, that one that doesn’t support predictable factory work, is that external motivation is far less useful. If you’re looking for a big payday, you won’t find it right away. If you’re depending on cheers and thank yous from your Twitter followers, you’re looking at a very bumpy ride.
In fact, the world is more and more aligned in favor of those who find motivation inside, who would do what they do even if it wasn’t their job. As jobs turn into projects, the leaders we need are those that relish the project, that jump at the chance to push themselves harder than any coach ever could.”

In isolation this is about work. It’s about industry. He doesn’t actually say it (it’s really not his department anyway) but I don’t think he knows how to exactly engender internal motivation that overcomes the external. How to make the gut strength motivation deeper and more pervasive than that which comes from the brain topside.

He’s not alone. Most every coach, counselor, or guru who’s trying to do it is on the wrong track. Often they fail to see that the motivation they’re supplying to their client is just yet another external motivating factor. Like a bird chirping on a tree branch or the sound of a wave hitting the beach. It’s still from the outside. It’s external.

Not surprising that they don’t see it for what it is though.

Internal motivating ques are very subtle and personal. Who gathers around the water cooler to talk about their gut feeling? Almost no one.

Too bad though. That one phenomenon is the basis of the new immunity that I’ve been writing about for some time now. The point I always make is simple but, as the old saying goes “still waters run deep” and this is no exception. It’s taken me years to give this voice so that I can explain it to people.

I think the era of the great motivator standing up on stage getting everyone going is now just about over. I don’t think people will go on paying big money for that same stuff for too much longer. Same with the calm-talk of the “spiritual teacher” sitting there answering questions while attendees hang on his/her every word.  It’s more personal now. It’s got to be. There’s just too much to contend with already.

All they’ve got is mostly just more words. Words that form ideas that motivate people. That’s how it’s been done for centuries. It’s about as old hart as it get’s

But now that model is in real trouble as our difficulties with a changing world catch up with us. Seth is smart enough to notice this new trend. So, how about you?

[Would you like to hear more about what I’ve got to say on this topic?  Sign-up here and get a free limited release MP3 download of my 90 minute conversation with copy guy extraordinaire Donnie Bryant. I hold nothing back and this call is jam-packed with information about my H.E.R.O.  project that I haven’t ever released on this blog before.

More power to you.

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Positivity Fail

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Mobius Monday Minute – June 20 , 2011

Mobius Monday Minute logo
Do you dream about how good an ideal future outcome is going to be? Do you follow the typical common coach’s suggestion about visualizing yourself in the winner’s circle?

If you do you could be heading for failure.

Reams of studies put together by psychologists over the years have shown that indulging in positive fantasies actually makes people’s ambitions less likely to become reality. But no one had yet figured out why.

Until now that is.

A new study carried out by researchers at New York University’s Motivation Lab points to evidence that positive fantasies sap our energy. “By allowing people to consummate a desired future”, the researchers explain, “positive fantasies trigger the relaxation that would normally accompany actual achievement, rather than marshaling the energy needed to obtain it”.

It looks like fantasizing about successful outcomes makes the task of putting out the energy to do the hard work seem unnecessary. If success seems like a forgone conclusion then why work so hard?

Apparently, the study revealed that when the fantasizing sets in even the subjects seem to get so relaxed that even their blood pressure dropped. (Although that correlation to motivation is still being looked at.)

So, should we stress ourselves to success? Or fantasize ourselves into relaxation?

Could this be why we see so many successful people with heart problems and dreamers who are flat broke? It’s quite a serious trade-off at either end of the spectrum don’t you think?

Personally, I’ve never been much of a fan of dreaming about the future. I prefer to go with future vision. Dreaming about great tomorrows that might never come is not productive. Dreams tend to be just shinny new objects in the distance that we see through the eyes of our imagination. They often appear like a movie with lots of movement and plenty of drama. But they also change a lot from session to session.

Vision is different.

With vision all you see is one frame of the completed movie. It’s always the same each time. Solid and sustained over long periods of time.

But that’s not all.

Vision allows you to actually feel its truth… it’s absoluteness that the future will be that which has been seen. Accomplishment happens through hard work sustained over time. That takes a high state of motivation that apparently dreaming can’t call-up. Dreams may be nice things that can appear fuzzy and warm but vision is a manic steamroller on its way to the finish line.

Choose wisely.

More power to you.
David is the developer of the H.E.R.O. eMachine