Finding Your Drive

I have never been much of a competitive person. When I say that to people I usually get “well you must not have siblings.” Wrong I have a sister very close in age, but I never wanted to be better than her in any way. I always wanted us to share everything and be equal in every way. So I think by nature I am simply not a competitive person.

My last post I wrote about intrinsic motivation working towards a goal. Today I want to touch on extrinsic motivation and the contract between the two motivations. After giving it some thought I was surprised by what motivates me.

I have always marveled at those individuals who push themselves on their own, pushing themselves to their brink solely because they are in competition with themselves.  An Olympic athlete trains for a particular goal, to win the title of best in the world in a distinct athletic category.  While I am sure intrinsic motivation accompanies their training ultimately it is the extrinsic goal of the gold medal which pushes them.  Mike Brown is a Canadian Olympic competitor in swimming. His successful career has been driven by winning, his person slogans is “driven to win”.  He explains the reason of coming out of retirement, at the age of 25, was simply to win gold in the London Olympic Games.

Other admirable athletes can find success in a different from of motivation. A marathon runner can train   for months before a race. The runner crosses the finish line without a country congratulating them or medal hung on their neck yet the look of success on their face is just as prevalent as the wining Olympic athlete.

I don’t know think there is a better from of motivation. It all pertains to the person and how the mechanics of their body and brain function. I find myself looking for extrinsic motivation because I think my intrinsic motivation is weak.  I have been  taking boot camps for years and just last year I stared running. I discovered this missing competitive characteristic through running. I am constantly trying to beat my last run in distance or speed. I now feel empowered through realizing I don’t need to rely on anyone other than myself to find my drive to win. I found the importance in recognizing how to push myself in this area of life. 

Image 1:WN / Dominic Canoy

Image 2:Thomas Hawk (Creative Commons)