[Music] you've always aspired to be a professional artist at last this dream may become a reality and your creating a portfolio to submit to art programs but as the application deadline looms you suddenly find yourself unmotivated and avoiding the canvas all together why does motivation seem so fickle and what even is it in the first place psychologists Define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior in other words it's the energy that drives you to do something and knowing the source of that drive is particularly important when it comes to understanding how to maintain it these motivational forces generally fall into two broad categories intrinsic and extrinsic intrinsic motivation is involved when you experience an activity as an end in itself take a hobby like playing video games The Experience largely explains the desire to do it performing tasks that feel right in the moment or that you find meaningful interesting or satisfying are driven by intrinsic motivation extrinsic motivation on the other hand refers to pursuing a task as a means to an end while few would consider going to the dentist an enjoyable activity you're often motivated by the outcome of having clean healthy teeth other examples of extrinsic motivation include completing a task to receive some sort of reward whether it's praise power or money notably these rewards tend to come later like receiving a bonus at the end of a quarter or winning a competition after months of training while extrinsic rewards like getting paid may seem appealing their effectiveness can be surprisingly short-lived for example a 2017 study found that those who were highly focused on the outcomes of their New Year's resolutions or driven by extrinsic motivation weren't the most likely to stick to them what did predict persistence however was how much a person enjoyed pursuing their goals in other words you're more likely to maintain an exercise routine if you take classes you enjoy rather than just those that build your biceps years of psychology research have shown that high levels of intrinsic motivation for school a job or an exercise class are more likely to keep you engaged in the long run day-to-day actions though are rarely either exclusively intrinsically or extrinsically motivated studying for a History exam for example can be intrinsically motivated if you're curious about the culture of ancient Egypt but extrinsic motivators may also be at play as you aim to get a good grade or feel pressure from family members to do well in school but having multiple motivators isn't always better one study of military cadets found that those who were driven both by intrinsic motivators like self-improvement and and extrinsic motivators like the outcome of getting a good job were overall less motivated than Cadets driven by Just One of These factors as a result these Cadets performed worse and were less likely to graduate psychologists call this phenomenon the over justification effect the idea that additional extrinsic motivators can actually muddy the waters when you already have the intrinsic drive to do something but this is only a problem if you already find a task motivating when you're faced with an activity you find tedious or uninteresting adding extrinsic rewards can be beneficial in this way extrinsic motivators can provide sufficient justification while you may never enjoy doing the laundry it may feel less daunting if you get praise from a loved one or even promise yourself that you'll watch your favorite TV show when you're done folding m motivation is complicated and sometimes no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult but there are things you can do to increase your drive even when it feels impossible focus on building intrinsic motivation by making the task more fun in the moment asking a friend to join you or simply putting on your favorite playlist can give give you the Boost to get started and stick with your goals for the Long Haul another great tool is talking to yourself that's right selft talk can have a big impact on your life but how do you know if you're doing it right find out with this video or visit ed.ted.com buildar for more actionable science-based advice on how to build strengths of heart mind and will