Intrinsic motivation; the force is inside you

It is possible that you have always had great inner strength but you do not know what it means or what its real name is. That internal force can be intrinsic motivation and usually occurs when there is a behavior that is driven by internal rewards. The motivation will occur in a behavior from the inside of the person because it is satisfactory on a personal level. This is in contrast to extrinsic motivation, which is when a person only engages in behavior to avoid punishment or to have external rewards.

Understanding Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is actually the most powerful of all. It is what really motivates people to achieve their goals or make changes. In psychology, Intrinsic motivation distinguishes between internal and external rewards. Intrinsic motivation occurs when a person acts without thinking about the external rewards they may have, simply enjoys the activity or sees it as an opportunity to explore, learn and actualize their full potential.

For example, If you are reading this article to learn more about the mind and psychology, it is likely that you are acting intrinsically motivated. On the other hand, if you are reading this article because you want to contribute new information to a school work and you want to get a good grade, then you will be based on extrinsic motivation.

Internal satisfaction when performing activities of personal enjoyment are usually all intrinsically motivated. For example, when you read a book because you like it, when you write a story, when you play an interesting game for you ... They are activities that you do with intrinsic motivation and are rewarded in some way by and for you. You do things because you like them, because it makes you happy and you feel good about it.

Emotional well-being

Intrinsic motivation will make you feel internal satisfaction and therefore emotional well-being. Your motivations for engaging in the behavior arise entirely from within and not from a desire for some form of external reward (such as prizes, money, or being more popular).

Of course, that's not to say that intrinsically motivated behaviors don't have their own rewards. These rewards involve creating positive emotions within the individual.

Activities can generate such feelings when they give people a sense of meaning, such as participating in solidarity activities. They can also give you a sense of progress when you see that your work is accomplishing something positive or proficient when you learn something new or become more skilled at a task.

Intrinsic rewards

Actually, when external rewards or reinforcement are offered to perform an activity it can be internally rewarding in and of itself, it can make the task less inherently rewarding.  This is known as excess justification.

A person's intrinsic enjoyment of an activity provides sufficient justification for his behavior. With the addition of extrinsic reinforcement, the person may perceive the task as overexcited and then try to understand your true motivation (extrinsic versus intrinsic) to participate in the activity.

People when they are intrinsically motivated become more creative people and this, in work environments is necessary to increase productivity. Although the motivation is further increased afterwards with extrinsic rewards as a bonus in the salary. But in reality, the actual quality of the work done is influenced by intrinsic factors because the person does something that is rewarding, interesting and challenging ... this way you will be able to find new ideas and creative solutions.

Intrinsic motivation in learning

Intrinsic motivation is an important issue in education. Teachers and instructional designers strive to develop inherently rewarding learning environments. Unfortunately, many traditional paradigms suggest that most students find learning boring. In this sense, they can be stimulated extrinsically in educational activities.

Activities that are intrinsically motivating are those that people do because they know they are good for them without receiving an external reward or avoiding punishment. A student who studies a subject because he knows that it is good for his future will be doing it with intrinsic motivation.

On the other hand, a student who studies for an exam to avoid a bad grade, the failure of the subject or the negative consequences at home of having obtained bad grades, will be doing so out of extrinsic motivation.

In education, for there to be intrinsic motivation it will be necessary to take into account some keys, such as:

• Challenges
• Curiosity
• Control
• Cooperation and competition
• Recognition

Beware of the rewards

Experts note that offering unnecessary rewards can backfire. You may think that offering rewards always increases a person's motivation, interest and performance, this is not always the case. For example, when children are rewarded for playing with toys that they already enjoy playing with, their motivation and enjoyment of those toys actually diminishes.

However, it is important to note that a number of factors can influence whether intrinsic motivation increases or decreases through external rewards. The importance or significance of the event itself often plays a critical role.

An athlete competing in a sporting event might view the winner's award as confirmation of the winner's competence and exceptionality. Although the award does not have a special economic value in itself. On the other hand, some athletes may view the same award as a kind of bribery or coercion. The way in which the individual sees the importance of the different characteristics of the event impacts whether the reward will affect a person's intrinsic motivation to participate in that activity.

After knowing all this, you may have stopped to think about what moves you every day to carry out your daily tasks and responsibilities; Intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Although there is a bit of everything in life and the reality is that it is balance that moves us to feel good about the environment, it will be the intrinsic one that truly brings out all your inner strength. So you can achieve what you set out to do in life.

Your internal goals will be the ones that really make the difference in terms of your personal satisfaction. For example, if you spend all your time. By working to earn money, you can miss out on the simple pleasures in life. Realizing your own intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and balancing them can be very rewarding… and is necessary for your emotional well-being!