Reminiscent of my time as a varsity athlete
This morning I read an article concerning the most important factor that will allow athletes to achieve a high level of performance and sustain a strong diligent practice routine is motivation. This article did no come so much as a surprise to me because as an athlete myself, I readily believe that motivation is the strongest drive one has in pursuing a goal. I believe that the two types of motivation, as we learned from our Organizational Behaviour class, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, must be reinforced together in order to achieve top-level performance.
Intrinsic motivation is an internal motivator and is defined as performing an action because one enjoys that action. Extrinsic motivation has to do with external rewards such as money or fame that drives one to perform. I believe that an athlete not only needs to have intrinsic motivation and enjoy competing in the sport, be he or she must also have an extrinsic motivation to win or to achieve. It is when these two types motivators combine together synergistically that the athlete is unstoppable.
Although it is obvious that rewards will undoubtedly provoke people to perform certain tasks, the article presents a research finding that “intrinsically motivated people tend to perform better, especially over the long run and when facing difficulty.” It is due to the intrinsic factors that allow the mind to push past the limits of the body. As the writer states in the article while interviewing a notable cyclist, “It was this strength of feeling that helped him push through to victory, even though his body told him to stop — he was almost in tears because of the pain in his legs.” Reading this statement elicits a sense of pride and allows me to be reminiscent of my experience on the basketball court playing in the finals. I vividly recall the memory of being extraordinarily tired from playing non-stop for four quarters but it was my immense desire to win that kept me going.
Whether you are a leader or not, if you want your team members or someone to do something, the best way is to provoke a sense of extrinsic motivation for them to complete the desired task. In every case, motivation beats force.
- Langton, Robbins, Judge, Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, p. 128.
- <http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/faster-on-your-bike-in-15-minutes-31399>