How to Use Intrinsic Motivation as a Powerful Tool for Success Focusing on intrinsic motivation offers a way to reframe career bumps and remain motivated.

With so many external factors contributing to your successes and failures, it's hard to overstate the importance of utilizing every tool in your tool belt. You may not be able to control the traffic jam that causes you to be late to an interview, or an employer's preference for a more seasoned applicant. But there is one factor to success that will always be in your control, and that's motivation. More specifically, intrinsic motivation.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Our motivations in life can be broken down into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. This simply means that anything that motivates us must come from either an internal or external source. For example, if someone were to become a healthcare lawyer because of a desire to help others, they would be considered intrinsically motivated. However, if this same person were to become a healthcare lawyer solely for the fact that they are some of the highest-paid lawyers in the legal profession, they would be considered extrinsically motivated.