Intrinsic Motivation

It looks like it is motivation month at U-District! I read a great book last week called Intrinsic Motivation at Work and it addressed the issue of inspiring people to be better. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside the self and is short lived. It leaves people working for a reward that can only be achieved at a later date and so they don’t fully appreciate the present. Extrinsic motivation only places value on the end and not the means to the end and so instead of living in the moment, they can’t wait for the workout to be over. The problem with this mindset is that the only time an athlete can get better is Now. Not tomorrow, not later, not next week. Athletes must learn to love every moment of the training session because at that time, that is all they have. To make sure that your athletes are fully engaged in the Now, they must be able to see the purpose of their workouts. When an athlete has a sense of purpose, they’re able to concentrate on what they’re doing because it is important to them. One way you can give you athletes purpose is by explaining to them why you selected their exercises and how they transfer over to success in their sport. If they see the reason behind every movement they make, they are more likely to move with passion and conviction. It will also make you a better coach because it will force you to put extra thought behind how you design the workout and why you are choosing specific exercises.