In this motivational monologue, the speaker uses the recent retirement of world‑number‑one tennis player Ash Barty as a case study to explore the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Barty stepped away from professional tennis at 25, not because of injury or external pressure, but because she no longer felt the emotional drive to compete. She emphasizes that tennis was a job, not her identity, and that she now draws energy from being at home with family. The speaker expands this example to a broader societal critique: people often continue pursuits solely for external rewards—money, titles, expectations—rather than personal fulfillment. He urges listeners to examine their own motivations, identify what truly energizes them, and align their actions with intrinsic purpose, suggesting that such alignment leads to genuine satisfaction and better performance in any endeavor.
Chapters
Good morning, everyone. Here is your Moment of Yes for Wednesday, April 6th. So, a few weeks ago, number 1 female tennis player in the world, Ash Barty, at the age of 25, with 3 Grand Slam titles to her name, retired. She walked away. Because of pressure? No. Because of something off the court? No. Because of injury? No. Because she admittedly said, I've lost the emotional As well as the motivation to play the game anymore. It wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't a negative thing. She said that she is recharged from being at home. She looks forward to getting to hang with her parents and family again, and she's excited about her next chapter in life. She also went on to say that playing tennis was never about winning trophies and that she's excited about moving forward. So people have kind of been confused, like, how can she do this? There must be more to it. She's 25, all this money yet to win, all these titles yet to win. How can she do this? But the answer is right there in her statement, right? She doesn't have the motivation anymore. And she actually says, I'm excited about Ash Barty the person instead of Ash Barty the athlete, right? She recognizes that it's 2 different things. Tennis is just what she does. It's not who she is. Tennis is just what she does. It's not who she is. And that there is a whole person outside of this endless desire to win as many tournaments as you can, to make as much money as you can, because you can, right? This whole idea of like, well, if you can, you should, right? If you can win more tournaments, you should play as long as you can. If you can make as much money as you can, you should, you should play as long as you can. And that's, that's the problem. That's the societal issue that we still get stuck in, right? It's this extrinsic motivation compared Compared to the internal motivation. I guarantee that the same level of professionalism and desire and commitment that Ash probably brought to becoming the number one tennis player in the world, that doesn't change as soon as you get into other endeavors in your life. But it's about understanding that the motivation is intrinsic and it's not extrinsic. Yes, extrinsic motivation can be great, but it's always going back and understanding really who we are and why we are, what motivates What inspires us? Where do we get our energy from? She says, I get my energy from home, and was in a profession where she's on the road for 46, 47 weeks of the year, right? That's a big deal. But there's tons of self-awareness in her statement. And for each of us, right? What are we doing right now because we feel we have to do it compared to because we are actually intrinsically motivated by it? Or what are we intrinsically motivated by that we're not doing, but we're feeling like we can't do it, maybe because of extrinsic reasons? Let's connect with those desires, connect with those motivations, those inspirations, and connect more deeply with our purpose. That's what's going to get us in more proper alignment. All right, that's your moment of ES for today, everybody. Have an awesome day. Bye.
