How to Increase Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation means encouragement and desire to accomplish predefined goals and objectives. It forces you to achieve your targets in return for some rewards. There are two types of motivation – extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation helps you to achieve your goals in return for some external rewards like money, awards, authority, and recognition. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation drags you towards your success for your inner satisfaction and happiness. It got nothing to do with external rewards.

According to many studies, people who possess high intrinsic motivation, are more successful and satisfied in their lives. In today’s world, where all external rewards inspire us to work harder, this reduces the intrinsic motivation factor. However, many psychologists think that intrinsic motivation leads to long-term prosperity and happiness. On the other hand, striving for external rewards develops anxiety and frustration. Let’s find out how to increase your intrinsic motivation.

Define Your Goals

You should be very clear about what you want to achieve in your life, according to that you can set short-term, and long-term goals. Short-term goals are targets to achieve within three years and long-term goals are targets to achieve in a decade. Remember, your goal should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. If you don’t make SMART goals, you will not be able to gain anything in the end, it will only make you frustrated and depressed.

List Things Which You Like

Rather than thinking about many things to achieve in life, make a list of things that genuinely make you happy, activities that drag you to keep moving instead of making you tired. Start to connect those activities into small tasks which can take you forward to your goals. Do not overburden yourself and take the small steps, as small steps can take you to a big achievement.

But you should remain consistent and determined. If you indulge yourself in things that you enjoy, you will remain disciplined automatically. And in the end, celebrate your small achievements. You should be more focused on how close you have come to your goals rather than how far you are from your goals. Celebrating small successes will motivate you to keep going toward your big achievement.

Think about Giving More

The best available medicine for happiness is generosity. When you start making other people happy around you, by giving sincere advice, or by helping in any other way, your brain will release dopamine hormones, which will not only boost your happiness but will increase your creativity to do more and more for others. Hence made your goals around solving problems for others.

It is evident that businesses which are providing solutions to the problems are more successful than others. Also, developing deep relationships with sincere people will satisfy your basic social needs, and by teaming with such like-minded people you will not only bring drastic positive changes in your life but you will be able to bring revolutionary changes in the world.

Adopt Good Habits and Stick to It

Try to adopt some healthy habits every day and stick to them, to bring incremental improvements in yourself. If you want to lose weight, go gym regularly, if you want to be beautiful, take your essential vitamins regularly. Whatever you want to achieve in your life, accordingly, try to adopt good habits regularly and stay consistent with them. Consistency is the key to achievement. In this way, you will train your brain to look for habits that can take you closer to your goals, and staying consistent with those habits will develop a sense of achievement. This inner sense of achievement will motivate you to believe in yourself that you can acquire big success in your life.

Keep Yourself Healthy

Everything comes after your health. If you are physically and mentally healthy, you are more energetic to work harder for big achievements. If you are not healthy, there are high chances you will quit in the middle of the way towards your goals out of tiredness and frustration.

Hence, it is important to take care of your health, regular exercise, a balanced diet, plenty of water intake and sufficient sleep are a few ways in which you can keep yourself healthy and energetic enough to strive for your ambitions.

It is essential to keep boosting your self-motivation to bring desired long-term changes in your life. It is also important to achieve a self-actualization point, to live a more happy and satisfying life.