Forms of Motivation and Goal Setting

The folks at Positive Psychology continue to publish such helpful information for us to use in our lives and in our teaching. The following comes from a recent Instagram post in which they cover goal-setting and motivation.

External motivation – goals are heavily guided by external circumstances and would not take place without some kind of reward or to prevent a negative outcome. For example, an individual who clocks extra hours in their day job purely to receive a bigger paycheck.

Introjected motivation – goals are characterized by self-image or ego-based motivation, reflecting the need to keep a certain self-image alive. For example, our worker in the example above staying longer in the office so that they are perceived as a ‘hard worker’ by their manager and co-workers.

Identified motivation – the actions needed to accomplish the goal are perceived as personally important and meaningful, and personal values are the main drivers of goal pursuit. For example, the worker putting in extra hours because their personal values align with the objective of the project they are working on.

Intrinsic motivation – when a behavior is guided by intrinsic motivation, the individual strives for this goal because of the enjoyment or stimulation that this goal provides. While there may be many good reasons for pursuing the goal, the primary reason is simply the interest in the experience of goal pursuit itself. For example, the worker spends more time at their job because they enjoy and are energized by using their skills in creativity and problem-solving.

Goals guided by either identified or intrinsic motivation can be considered self-concordant. A self-concordant goal is personally valued or the process towards the goal is enjoyable and aligns with interests.

Self-concordant goals are associated with higher levels of well-being, enhanced positive mood, and higher levels of life satisfaction compared to non-self-concordant goals. The first step to increasing self-concordant goals is becoming aware of the underlying motivations and promoting self-insight.

What do you think of this model and how it relates to goal achievement for yourself and others?

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If you want to dive deeper into goal setting, take a look at author James Clear’s listing drawing from his book Atomic Habits. And don’t forget about the WOOP research-based approach to setting goals!