People talk about it, but how many experience it? The two-letter word “it” is the personal pronoun that describes that thing that you never experience or the “it” you need to do. A friend mentioned that he looked forward to a relaxing weekend free from work or schedules to meet. His intent was to nurse a beverage while watching basketball. Later that month, he recounted how his wife and kids had other plans and “it” did not happen.
A more common desire is to improve our health. “I need to get into shape, but ‘it’s’ tough” is the battle cry of countless people who continue to frequent artery clogging restaurants rather than heart pumping recreation. Personally, I talk about Canadian helicopter ski trip with my family, yet I hear that famous quote from legendary ski filmmaker Warren Miller, “If you don’t do “it” this year, you’ll be a year older when you do.”
Motivation is another one of those words that we hear a lot about. People spend millions of dollars each year in the pursuit of this elusive ideal. The concept of “motivation’ has many definitions, more advocates, and even more products and promising to change one’s thinking, behavior, or attitude. There are endless quotes that remind us to be motivated. Today, I am staring at a quote by H. Norman Schwarzkopf. “You can’t help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.”
It is with the best intentions that people attempt to motivate themselves to improve some aspect of their life or the lives of another person. Self-improvement is one of the basic urges of people. There is an intrinsic motivation to become better at something that is important to them. Total mastery is usually not practical, yet there is a lack of satisfaction with overall progress.
Over the past several years, the idea of living a life propelled by Intrinsic Motivation has taken on a special allure for me. I have attempted to give it my personalized definition and project its benefits to every part of my life. It has been a road of discovery and provocation, as I have had to come to grips with my own motivations. For to be the ‘Best I can be’ I need to know ‘Who I am meant to be’. The mission of the Intrinsic Motivation project is to do to the same for you… To help you discover how you are Intrinsically Motivated so you can become your best.
