There’s two types of motivation that drive us.

Intrinsic and extrinsic

Most people do what they do because of extrinsic motivation. They’re motivated by factors outside themselves. They worry about what other people think.

Teachers. Parents. Society.

I had a horrible time of that… I used to anyway. It’s what drives a lot of school children. They don’t want to fail and let people down. So they work themselves into misery.

I remember my AS-exams results day. I’d got AAB grades, I think. Most people would be happy with that. But I was really disappointed because I wanted to apply to Cambridge. I knew my grades wouldn’t be good enough. I was so so low.

Thankfully, moving off that path opened up a lot more exciting doors.

But most people are extrinsically motivated their entire lives. They go on the conveyor belt of school – > uni -> job, without ever questioning it. They do what other people expect of them.

Intrinsic motivation is the opposite.

It comes from within.

It’s that drive, that spark, that ooomph which puts the fire in people’s eyes.

You can often read the difference.

And the world needs more intrinsically motivated people.