Goal setting and motivation
I know I have to do it, but I just don’t feel like it!
She’s just a super motivated and driven person. I’m not like that. I didn’t even want to get out of bed today.
Every student has felt or said something like this in their life. We often think of motivation as an intangible and almost magical force that we have no control over. It is either something that some people are born with, or a wave of energy or emotion that overcomes us, at times unknown to us. Most of us feel that there’s nothing to do but wait for inspiration to strike.
However, research has shown that motivation can be created, controlled and sustained by setting clearly defined goals and sticking to them. These goals stem from your motivation, which could either be intrinsic or extrinsic.
Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are useful and needed to give you the urge to begin and continue to achieve your goals. Knowing whether you're motivated more by extrinsic or intrinsic motivation can help you tailor your goal setting strategies.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations student example
Here is an example of Sam, who is majoring in Japanese and wants to travel and work in Japan in the future. He has identified some of his intrinsic and extrinsic motivations below, selecting the hotspots in the image to reveal these.
Document your intrinsic and extrinsic motivations
Fill out your intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in the boxes below. Once completed you can toggle to export your responses as a document.