We experience these physical forces every day. But we also experience forces within our mind. The forces in our minds are what we call motivation. Like the physical world forces, these forces in our mind are the special “something” that causes us to change velocity, including from a state of rest, to accelerate. We experience the motivational forces when we decide to start writing a book, to start studying for a certification exam, when we make the move to start a new career. The motivation we feel causes a shift in our mindset that leads to changes in our physical form, our knowledge and ultimately our growth.
Internal or External?
What’s key to you in all of this is the genesis of this force – internal or external? Or in psychology parlance, intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that is derived from within and comes from the enjoyment felt from an interest or task. Extrinsic is the motivation you get from the outside environment, such as your boss, your personal trainer, or any activity you undertake in order achieve some desired outcome. ‘
Where you want to be is in the position of taking total responsibility for generating your motivation. This is the place where you can be the boss of generating success throughout your lifetime. Those individuals who have positioned themselves to achieve their personal goals were those who relied nearly exclusively on intrinsic motivation. They were the genesis of the forces that propelled them forward, not fear of failure, not a drill sergeant, not the allure of treasures. For certain outside forces help to give a little extra motivational kick from time-to-time, but for the most part, internally-generated motivation is the kind that sticks for the long haul.
Getting Into Flow
What does internal motivation feel like? Like being drawn by a magnet towards something that is true to who we are as an individual. When you lose yourself in what you’re doing, when time seems to fly by or stand still, when you feel boundless energy when engaged in a specific task you are feeling internal motivation. When you’re in this state, you’re in a state of what Mihail Csikszentmihalyi, psychology expert and author, call’s “flow” or the “optimal experience”. You or I might simply call this “enjoyment”.
Getting to this state of flow is a responsibility that falls to no one else but us. At numerous times in my life I was propelled forward by internal motivation to achieve a goal I desired. My education, my professional certifications, my graduation from the Army’s elite Air Assault School at Fort Campbell – each an internally motivated and conceived goal. In every case I was entirely invested in these experiences and would often lose track of time. The same happens when traveling, interacting with foreign colleagues or clients, or involved in a project that syncs with my strengths and focus areas. These activities bring me enjoyment and I take responsibility for creating the environment where I can do these activities. In so doing, I enter my state of flow.
Taking responsibility for your own motivation is about becoming what you must become. When you take responsibility for generating your own motivation you achieve what Abraham Maslow, 20th century psychology guru and creator of the “hierarchy of needs” concept, termed the “self-actualizing person”. This person is the master of self-motivation, one who has seized full responsibility for not only determining what their own potential is, but also doing what they must to make their potential a reality.
The process to get to this point takes work, plain and simple. And this isn’t the type of work you do in the office 50 hours a week. It’s the type of work that requires you to questions what it is that makes you tick, what brings you happiness, what it is you’re capable of doing in our world. Engineers design the most amazing things in existence. If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’re an engineer. Maybe you can design the most amazing version of existence for you. All it takes is responsibility to self-motivate.
“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen
Christian Knutson, P.E., PMP is a leader, civil engineer, and author. He’s an accomplished professional specializing in A/E/C work internationally and author of The Engineer Leader, a recognized blog on leadership and life success for engineers and professionals.