Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Hey guys, what's up? This is Brian. I am sitting here with my little man, Emerson. I am on daddy duty, mama, working out, meditating in the sauna right now, I think. And I just thought I'd sit down and share my first big idea in a new series I'm going to create called optimal living 101, where I'm going to share big ideas. We've kind of got the Philosopher's Notes TV where I go off on these different notes. What I want to do is just find a really cool rhythm sharing these, ideally daily and just some of my favorite big ideas and really compact, simple mini videos and go from there. And the first one that I want to share is on one of my favorite ideas, which is intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. So this is huge. And it's based on the research done by a guy named Edward Deasy in a book called why we do what We Do. And it's talked about throughout the positive psychology literature and just kind of pop psychology literature. Another great book that talks about it, Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorsen. But here's the deal. Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. Now, extrinsic motivation is basically what our society is all set up around. We want to get wealthy, we want a lot of money, we want to be famous, and we want to be hot. It's essentially what our society is aiming toward. It's what we reward. It's celebrity, culture, etc, etc, etc. Now unfortunately, what we know scientifically is that if you're oriented toward money, fame and beauty, you're going to be less psychologically stable than if you have intrinsic motivators like having deeper meaningful relationships, personal growth and making a contribution to your community. Now, if you focus on. And of course we have a mix, we all have a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, right? But if your predominant focus is on the extrinsic stuff and you're constantly going after money and fame and beauty, well, that leads to what is technically described as exos. You're going to be less psychologically stable. And the researchers talk about the fact that. And this again is right out of this book, in this note that even if you think you're going to succeed, or even if you are succeeding in pursuing these extrinsic motivation factors, you're going to be less psychologically stable, less happy, less content than people who are seeking meaningful relationships, personal growth and community contributions that leads to contentment, joy, bliss, enthusiasm, wonderful things. So take a look at what's motivating you are you more driven by the extrinsic stuff, which tends to get us all stressed out in the exos? Or are you taking time to really be present with your family, deep in meaningful relationships with your friends, growing as a human being, investing in yourself and making a contribution. Now, this contribution thing doesn't mean I'm going to change the world and I'm going to be on Oprah. Oops. We just went from a contribution to I really want to be famous if I'm honest about it. Well, that's going to get you in trouble. You're going to be less psychologically stable. Just be simple. Open the door for people behind you at the movie theater. You know, help someone out in the checkout line, at the grocery store, call your mom and tell you love her. Like, there's so many different things you can do to make a contribution. And when we focus on truly making a contribution, we're going to have the immediate benefit of feeling better. And the irony is that as we do that, a lot of these things tend to take care of themselves. Again, focus on the meaningful relationships, growing as a human being and making simple contributions and giving your gifts to the world, and you will orient more toward intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic. And my hunch is you, like me, will experience a much higher and consistent level of happiness, joy, and all that other awesomeness. So there you go. There's a quick look first. Little big idea. Optimum 101. Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. I actually captured over 100 of these ideas that I want to share. So let me know what you think. I hope you like it. And let me know if you have any things you want me to talk about, like specific ideas you'd like me to cover. And I will go off, open up the journal and do a little riff at times. We'll have our little man join us. Pretty amazing. He and I have walked in this little. I don't know if you could see it, but I'm like in a little called a Moby Wrap. And he and I walk together every morning. We give mom a break and we've walked, I think, over, well, definitely over 150 miles in the first five weeks. I think we're approaching over 175, maybe even 200 miles. And that's just been awesome. So there you go. Life is good. Can't wait to share more. Have an awesome day. See you.