I have been getting back into running recently and I had a little bit of a think about my motivation towards the sport. I wondered what keeps me going and what was stopping me from pushing through my running goals.
Recently I ran in a half marathon. I haven’t been doing this distance very often since covid and even though it is a bit more challenging compared to a 10k, I have been enjoying it. I have been getting quite anxious about running the 10k mini marathons because for me it is a faster race and there are strict time goals that I have in place for myself.
On the other hand, with the half marathon distance, I normally take it easy. It is a long race and therefore I need to pace myself. The race that I ran recently was in the pouring rain. Every runner had a great attitude towards it. Even though the age of the runners was varied, teenagers through to over 70s, we all enjoyed running in and out of puddles throughout the entire race like children.
I realized that the motivation I had with that last race and other 10k races that I have ran in is different. The half marathon race was intrinsically motivated and the 10k races were extrinsically motivated. Let’s have a look at the difference.
Intrinsic motivation is an activity undertaken for its inherent satisfaction, and extrinsic motivation comes from receiving either a reward or punishment for the activity. The intrinsic relates to the motivation coming from within, so in the case of running, it is doing it because you love doing it. Running for a podium spot or a personal best is part of extrinsic motivation.
I think it is important to get a mix of both of these kinds of motivations in any kind of activity that you do. I also think that the intrinsic motivation should be the number one priority. There may be many people that are doing jobs that they hate, just because the money is good. They could end up being miserable and lose their purpose in life.
I think that intrinsic motivation can be learned. Mixing my running up by doing some slow fun runs in nature helped me to love running more. In the case of work, it really does depend on the individual, but you could find activities to engage more with your workmates to improve your work environment.
I guess the takeaway from this is to take a look at the activities, sports, your work and assess your motivation. Is it coming from the right place? If it isn’t, maybe you need a change, or you need to move onto something you enjoy more.
We all can be motivated by either a carrot or a stick, but we really should be motivated by a carrot that we give to ourselves. How is that for a quote, that I just made up.
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