Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation
concept · updated
Extrinsic motivation is doing things for external rewards — money, status, fame, approval. Intrinsic motivation is doing things you’d do anyway, for their own sake. The through-line across the sources: extrinsic goals never sustainably satisfy, because of hedonic adaptation.
The warning, repeated
- Justin Kan (after selling Twitch): chasing an extrinsic goal for years and then hitting it “felt like a let down.” The fix was building a daily practice (meditation, exercise, gratitude) and working only on things he was intrinsically motivated to do (happiness notes).
- Scott Galloway: money-happiness tops out once your basics and shocks are covered; status is a treadmill (happiness notes). See how much is enough.
- Graham Weaver: after 14 years of grinding, the payday he’d been working toward for 30 years arrived — and nothing happened. Six months later he was clinically lost. His line for it: “trying to find internal validation through external achievement is like drinking salt water to quench your thirst. It seems like it’s going to work, but it just makes you thirstier.” Full treatment: win without crushing your soul.
The test for what’s intrinsic
What would you do if no one was watching, if no one paid you, if you got no status or money for it? — Justin Kan
It doesn’t have to become your job; it just has to get into your life.
Finding your real motives
Dark Horse (source) gives a method: your micro-motives are buried feelings, and you surface them by noticing your reactions to other people. When you envy or dismiss someone, ask why — that reaction reveals what actually lights your fire. “You must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool” (Feynman). This feeds directly into fit over passion.
Related
- What makes us happy · Hedonic adaptation · Fit over passion · How much is enough · Win without crushing your soul
Citations
- Dark Horse — Todd Rose & Ogi Ogas
- The Algebra of Happiness — Scott Galloway
- Justin Kan — IAmA (Reddit)
tags: happiness purpose motivation