{"id":144093,"date":"2025-04-24T09:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=144093"},"modified":"2025-04-25T14:54:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:54:06","slug":"motivated-to-succeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/motivated-to-succeed\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivated to Succeed: How Drive Can Make a Huge Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you struggling to achieve lasting success in your career or personal goals? What truly drives people who consistently accomplish their ambitions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your motivation to succeed can make all the difference between mediocre results and exceptional achievement. In his book <em>The Winner Effect<\/em>, Ian Robertson explains that those driven by internal rewards tend to outperform people focused solely on external rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to discover how identifying your true motivations can lead to sustainable success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-motivation-to-succeed\">Motivation to Succeed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your motivation\u2014<strong><em>why<\/em> you want to succeed<\/strong>. Robertson explains that people who are motivated to succeed want one of two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Internal<\/em> rewards such as enjoyment or satisfaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>External<\/em> rewards such as social recognition or money<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Robertson argues that <strong>those motivated by internal rewards are more likely to succeed than those driven by external ones<\/strong>. When you\u2019re motivated by positive emotions such as personal satisfaction or enjoyment, you\u2019re more likely to have a genuine passion for what you do. As a result, you tend to immerse yourself fully in goal-related tasks, go above and beyond minimum requirements, and produce higher quality work\u2014leading to greater expertise and achievement over time. For example, a software developer motivated by the joy of solving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/complex-problem\/\">complex problems<\/a> will spend extra time perfecting code, leading to innovative solutions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/career-progression-plan\/\">career advancement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-external-rewards-limit-engagement\">External Rewards Limit Engagement\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, <strong>when you\u2019re motivated only by external rewards, you miss out on the positive emotions that inspire action<\/strong>. This can lead you to adopt a shallow approach to goal-related tasks, performing only the minimum requirements to obtain the reward. According to Robertson, this lack of engagement makes it difficult to develop the traits and skills necessary to grow and excel at what you do. For example, a software developer primarily motivated by receiving a salary only does the bare minimum required for each project, limiting skill development and innovation potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Identify Your Motivations and Move Toward Internally Rewarding Goals<\/strong><br><br>Other psychologists and self-improvement authors\u2014such as Jay Shetty (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/think-like-a-monk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Think Like a Monk<\/em><\/a>), Neil Pasricha (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-happiness-equation\/1-page-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Happiness Equation<\/em>),<\/a> and Deepak Chopra (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-seven-spiritual-laws-of-success\/1-page-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success<\/em><\/a>)\u2014echo Robertson\u2019s argument that feeling motivated by internal rewards is key to achieving success. They explain that pursuing internal rewards allows you to experience an upward emotional spiral (increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction). This positive mental state enables you to access the best parts of yourself\u2014your unique strengths and talents\u2014and apply them to achieve your goal.<br><br>The authors of <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/minimalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Minimalism<\/em><\/a> expand on the topic with advice to help you identify your motivations and move toward more internally rewarding goals. They claim that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/minimalism\/chapter-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">four obstructions hold you back from pursuing internally rewarding goals<\/a>: identity, status, certainty, and money. For example, you may focus on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/career-path-development\/\">career path<\/a> that promises continual promotions rather than one that fosters a genuine sense of fulfillment because your financial security and sense of identity are tied up with your career status.\u00a0<br><br>The authors suggest you can identify and start moving past these obstructions by distinguishing between the goals and activities that satisfy you (internally rewarding) and the ones that don\u2019t (externally rewarding). To do this, track all of your activities and ask yourself these questions:<br><br>\u2022 Is this something I want to do, or am I fulfilling external expectations?<br>\u2022 Do I enjoy this? If so, what\u2019s the most enjoyable aspect of it?<br>\u2022 Does this make me feel energized or drained? Motivated or unmotivated?<br>\u2022 How can I create opportunities to engage more in the activities that I enjoy?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-external-rewards-undermine-internal-motivation\">External Rewards Undermine Internal Motivation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Robertson adds that <strong>introducing external rewards for activities you\u2019re internally motivated to pursue can diminish your passion and engagement<\/strong> over time. It does this by shifting your focus from the inherent satisfaction you feel <em>while<\/em> performing the activity to the external reward you\u2019ll receive <em>after<\/em> you complete it. This change in perspective can transform a once-enjoyable pursuit into a chore, impeding your performance and success in that area. For example, if the internally motivated software developer begins to focus solely on their salary, their enthusiasm for problem-solving will eventually wane.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: To maintain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-intrinsic-motivation\/\">internal motivation<\/a>, experts recommend aiming for a balance where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalmentalhealth.com\/podcasts\/joy-lab-podcast\/episodes\/2148626621\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">at least 51% of motivation stems from internal rewards<\/a>. This approach ensures that positive emotions remain the primary driver while still allowing external rewards to play a supportive role. One way to achieve this balance would be to add additional steps to the tracking exercise we introduced earlier. Log how long you engage in each activity and total the time. Once you\u2019ve identified satisfying activities, aim to engage in them for at least 51% of the total time. For example, if you spend eight hours a day on various activities, dedicate at least 4 hours and 5 minutes of that time to your satisfying activities.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you struggling to achieve lasting success in your career or personal goals? What truly drives people who consistently accomplish their ambitions? Your motivation to succeed can make all the difference between mediocre results and exceptional achievement. In his book The Winner Effect, Ian Robertson explains that those driven by internal rewards tend to outperform people focused solely on external rewards. Read on to discover how identifying your true motivations can lead to sustainable success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":144153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9],"tags":[1781],"class_list":["post-144093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","tag-the-winner-effect","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Motivated to Succeed: How Drive Can Make a Huge Difference - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Your motivation to succeed can transform mediocre results into exceptional achievement. 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