A person can find an outlet in their personal life that motivates them to try new things or better themselves as individuals. Their personalities can reflect the goals a person wants to achieve and their willingness to achieve these goals. In a person’s life they may face social challenges and external pressures and it’s important for an individual to not use these aspects in life as your motivation. Motivation should come from within and shouldn’t be affected by negative outside factors such as comments made to put down others or social norms that someone may not be able to meet. You are yourself and you should focus on what you want for yourself and not let other people’s words affect your motivation.To effectively use motivation an individual must understand themselves and personality to find an outlet of motivation rather than using external factors instead.

It is obvious that as humans we are all different in many ways from physical characteristics, to different ideologies and beliefs. Author Phillip J. Core wrote the article, “Motivation and Personality: A Neuropsychological Perspective.” In this article when discussing people’s personalities the author states, “People differ from one another, and this fact is obvious to everyone. It is common to talk about people’s personalities using lexical terms to describe their characteristic ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.” It is important for an individual to reflect upon their personal self and not to be jealous or listen to harmful words from others that may make you want to change who you are. When you change your values to make others agree with them you are not being true to yourself which is something you shouldn’t be motivated to do. Motivation should come from within and reflect your personal values rather than follow other peoples and societies ideas of what you should be.

What opposes a person’s intrinsic motivation, motivation that comes from within a person, is extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that is affected by external factors. Author Natalie Regoli wrote an article listing the advantages and disadvantages of using extrinsic motivation in a person’s life. In the article some advantages she listed were individual benefits, creating a desire to chase dreams or goals, and it can increase productivity within people. When we look at the advantages they may seem justifiable and ideal points to consider such as a person struggling to find motivation to get employed. A person who is experiencing this struggle in life may be affected by the desire to want to own a home or car, so they will continue to search for employment so one day they will achieve their goal. External factors can put pressure on individuals to make them have the feeling of not being good enough for society or not meeting expectations that people want you to uphold. Regoli lists disadvantages for extrinsic motivation that involve the value of external rewards, repressing intrinsic motivation, following a course of diminishing returns, lack of passion, and creating unrealistic expectations. When being presented with the opportunity to achieve something or be rewarded outside of your values there are some questions you must ask yourself before pursuing. You must look into the value of the reward and how it made you feel as an individual after. Regoli best describes this when she states, “If you are striving for things that involve money or possessions, then these items are fleeting. It is the memories that you make with your families and friends that become the most-prized elements of life as the years go.” Memories and experiences are what make you as an individual and by focusing on assets outside of these experiences you may miss out on key moments in your life. Another disadvantage of extrinsic motivation is the repression of intrinsic motivation that extrinsic creates. If an individual is driven to pursue a career where they are just earning a paycheck and have no real care about the career, they may feel as if the career’s current rewards are worth the sacrifice. By not caring about your own thoughts and just doing something for the money, wouldn’t this be an example of going against your intrinsic values? Sure everyone is their own person so their personalities may make them want to chase careers for money rather than passionate value, but by pursuing something like this may cause your intrinsic motivation to decline. This can also create diminishing returns and unrealistic expectations you may have. By repeating a cycle and gaining the same reward every time, overtime you may find yourself with an outcome lower than your expectations this how extrinsic motivation creates diminishing returns. Instead of this you should look for something that will change in a way that suits your values and what you want as an individual. Extrinsic motivation can also present opportunities with outcomes that may seem rewarding, but in fact end with unrealistic outcomes. You must see the value in what you’re motivated to do and see what the path has to offer and if it is worth giving time and energy. When a person becomes motivated to achieve a goal it is important that they do not fall for any external forces pressuring them into doing something and instead look within and use intrinsic motivation to complete goals.

To effectively use motivation an individual must understand themselves and personality to find an outlet of motivation rather than using external factors instead. 

By using their core values a person can create a mentality to change themselves by working to achieve greatness. A person shouldn’t be controlled by outside factors such as other people’s judgment on themselves. External factors can affect your mindset and hide what you truly desire with false outcomes that will lead you to nothing. It may be harder for an individual who only listens to what other people have to say rather than an individual who uses self motivation to become successful in their dreams. You must see value in what you’re working for and if it reflects your personality and beliefs. 

References

15 Advantages and Disadvantages of Extrinsic Motivation – ConnectUS. (2019, May 30). ConnectUS. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://connectusfund.org/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-extrinsic-motivation

Home. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://compass-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/doi/full/10.1111/spc3.12016