• Have you ever felt like you have lost your motivation?

• Have you ever questioned how you can get your motivation back or increase it to train or compete?

Often, we point to a lack of motivation as the cause of us not reaching our goals or for sub-par performance. So, what is motivation and what are some things we can do to enhance it?

What is Motivation?

Motivation is the mental process that guides, initiates, and maintains what we want to do. It is a combination of the drive within us to achieve our goals and the outside factors that affect it. Specifically, motivation can be broken down into two sources: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

• Extrinsic Motivation. Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources. It is geared toward a desire to earn rewards or to avoid punishment. For example, an extrinsically motivated athlete may participate in sports to receive awards or praise, be admired, or avoid disappointment of parents, coaches, or other important people in life. Extrinsically motivated athletes tend to focus on winning, losing, and the opinions of others.

• Intrinsic Motivation. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation comes from within an athlete. It stems from a desire to obtain personally meaningful rewards. For example, an intrinsically motivated athlete may participate in sports for the fun of it, the challenge of competition, the joy of perfecting their craft, or exploration of their potential. Intrinsically motivated athletes typically focus on skill development and their growth as athletes.

Which one is better?

Both internal and external motivations can be useful and push athletes to achieve their goals or grind through difficult times.

However, an over emphasis on extrinsic motivation can actually reduce your motivation and negatively affect your performance in the long term. When your primary motivation is external, you are focused on the outcome and the fear of losing or punishment. You lose sight of the present moment and forget about the benefits that come with the experience of playing your sport; also known as “the process.” Extrinsic motivation may result in you feeling more anxiety and pressure to perform including: finding it difficult to deal with mistakes or failures, comparing yourself to others, and devaluing your self-worth. Playing your sport may become to feel more like “work” or a “job” than a “game.”

Preferably, you want to be more intrinsically motivated. Instead of focusing on only the outcome, you focus on the day to day process of training and practice. For example, if you are motivated by competing or learning a new skill rather than just winning, you will be satisfied while training and in competition. If you increase your level of intrinsic motivation, you are more likely to feel motivation throughout the course of a season, feel more focused during training, and experience less pressure in competition.

So, by focusing on more intrinsic motivation you can have greater satisfaction playing your sport and actually increase your performance.

Tips to Increase Intrinsic Motivation

Research suggests creating intrinsic motivation by focusing on how your sport can meet your psychological needs. Three essential psychological needs in sports are:

1. Competence. Human’s naturally want to achieve and master new things. Sports can help you feel competent by creating opportunities to achieve goals and learn new skills. If you only focus on the end result and things do not go the way you hope, you will likely feel like a failure. When you feel like a failure, it is unlikely that you will be motivated to keep working hard in your sport. To foster a feeling of competence you could…

   • Focus more on performance goals, and focus less on outcome goals (see goal setting post for more information)

   • Create specific goals that progress from simple to complex. Notice your accomplishments along the way

   • Use positive self-talk about your skills and abilities

2. Autonomy. Human’s want to feel in charge and in control. Feeling in control over your own destiny gives you feelings like positive energy and security. If you feel like you are doing things because other people want you to, you can lose value and joy in that task. The same is true in sports. To create feelings of autonomy you could…

   • Have a say in the decision making about your training plan, competitive strategy, etc.

   • Set independent goals for yourself that do not belong to coaches, parents, or teammates.

3. Relatedness. People have a natural need to feel connectedness with others. Through sport participation, you can fulfil this need for acceptance and belonging. Many athletes first decided to play sports to be around their friends or be a part of a team. In individual sports, relatedness can be received from coaches, competitors, and the sports community. To foster relatedness you could…

   • Join a group or community of individuals with the same interests.

   • Involve others into your athletic life and experience by inviting them to your competitions.

   • Share gratitude with those around you who are helping you to succeed at your sport.

Final Note

When you reflect and consider yourself to be in charge of your behavior, then you are more intrinsically motivated. To help build your intrinsic motivation, you may want to think about…

• What’s your why?

  • Why do I play sports?

  • Why do I play my specific sport?

  • Why did I play sports when I was younger?

• What do I get out of playing sports?

• What needs are meet through playing my sport?

• What do I enjoy about the process not just the outcome?

• How can I enact my control overall my athletic life?

Quote of the Day: “Today, you have 100% of your life left.” – Tom Landry

Joke of the Day: Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut?... He just needed a little space.

What is your why?

Jacob Daheim, MA