How are You Guided? Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

Whether it's life, a few more nights out than we'd like, or sometimes not quite feeling on top of our game. And of it's a few extra pounds or a metaphorical weight on our shoulders (plus feeling a little 'off'), is it actually possible to get back on track with whatever mental and/or physical energy we actually have left?!

The answer is yes. 

In psychology, there are actually two types of motivation - extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic is when we're guided by external values- scale, clothes, comparing to someone else (or even our past self), titles, etc. However, in practice I've noticed that when this is the dominant motivation, stress, exhaustion, 'beating oneself up', and especially 'never enough' mindset are quick to follow. 

Conversely, intrinsic motivation are the values that come from within. These are the statements where I find around breaking points such as 'I just want to know my body', 'I just want to feel normal for me', 'I want to be healthy in mind, body, & soul so I can pursue my passion projects', to 'I know I can do so much better than were I'm at- whatever it takes.' 

Intrinsic motivation has been studied that when this is the predominant motivation, people do generally have more success over the long-term. In extrinsic motivation, not so much. 

However, there's a way to balance this. It's important to identify that inner desire, that inner why, that fire that keeps you going (and this can change/evolve over time too!), and then balance this with your strategies for food intake, types of food, stress management, supplements, tracking lab work, etc. or anything else you're adding into your health program. 

Some questions to ask include:
*What do I value, and am I living as authentically as possible?
*What happened when I tried to force something in the past? What happened when I didn’t?
*How do I define myself outside of ________ (career title, accomplishments, home title- anything ‘exterior’)

Most of us are extrinsically guided, but chances are we have a much stronger self identity than we realize! We just need to bring it out :) And as much as we can listen to our body, draw upon our past experiences, we’re not who we were back then- mentally or physically. Our body is constantly changing and we’re constantly absorbing our surroundings. If you’d like to further uncover staying motivated, and would like some advice on how to balance these two, let’s chat more of how I can be of help.