What Motivates You?

After taking my exams, I felt relieved and free. It was a gruesome week, filled with late nights and really early mornings (which makes it doubly worse since everyone knows that I am not a morning person.) I was so physically and mentally drained that I went to bed and slept the moment I reached the house. Going through that week of sleep deprivation and constant studying, I realized that my main motivation for this examinations was to beat a classmate of mine who has, at turns, been irritating, annoying and too competitive for my and all my other classmates tastes. (The Chinese term, according to Google Translate is 很怕失去.)

Whenever we get back test papers or reports, she’d be the first one to ask me what my mark was (too bad for me, she sits right next to me). In fact, I think she is the only one who asks. I know that there is nothing wrong with asking people what they got to a test, but the way she asks never fails to get on my nerves. So, I decided that for all future examinations, I will do my very best to always get better marks than her. So far, my quest has been well. The ratio is 4:1 (4 wins for me and 1 for her.)

Then, I read the book “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink. (Don’t make fun of his surname, all my friends have done so already. Not that funny -.-) He argues that currently, people are motivated by their employers, teachers and even parents using the “Carrot and Stick” Method. Extrinsic Rewards such as money, benefits and objects are used to spur people to work harder (Carrot). Meanwhile, the threat of being punished scares them into working (Stick). I have to say that this is the method all of the famous dictators have used to rule their respective countries. Think Hitler and Stalin. Back to    the point, Mr. Pink argues that while these may work for the short-term, it will bring about more harm than good for the long-term.

Rewards, like alcohol and drugs, are addictive. For example, once you pay your niece to take out the trash for say, $5. She will most likely never take out the trash again for free. Furthermore, as she grows older, she will demand more money for the same task. In other words, you pay more for a task that could have been done for free. He also argues that while the “Carrot and Stick” method is becoming more and more outdated, there is another, and cheaper, way to motivate yourself and the people around you. It’s intrinsic motivation, fueled by autonomy, mastery and purpose. People who have control of their time and task are more productive. Similarly, a person who has a goal of constantly being better at something is more productive than a person who works for money. Purpose is basically something that helps you sleep at night, though it really does help 🙂

Looking back, I realize that while I was revising the content being tested, I was dragging my feet about it. Studying for the sake of beating someone else was tedious. While I felt great about it at first, the feeling eventually went away. I ended up being tired and sleep deprived without anything to show for it. Now, I want to study for myself, to continuously improve and upgrade my knowledge. (Beating her again would just be a bonus) At the same time, I want to try something new and explore further into the fields that currently has my attention. Some of the most successful people, like Warren Buffett and Oprah, are motivated intrinsically. And I, hopefully not being tooooooo ambitious, would love to join their ranks one day. 😉

So, What motivates you?