Greetings!
What do you believe is the reason for your success, or lack of it?
Before reading further, stop!
Ask yourself first, "What is success, for me?" You are the one that has to know what it is, because to achieve it, you have to personally define it. Hint: if you're having trouble with this don't be discouraged. For the sake of this article, think in terms of a big goal and several smaller goals.
OK.... read on (please).
In the psychology of success we talk about, "Achievement Motivation". And just like it sounds, it is that almost physical motivation impelling you to achieve. Simply put, the higher your Motivation to Achieve, the greater your likelihood of success. If you would like to take a short Achievement Motivation questionnaire, click on this link to the Front Line Marketing web page.
Next, we should define your "Reward Network". These are the things that we do that make us feel good. And, things that make us feel good are activities that will help us and our genes survive. So things like eating, exercise and sex would qualify. When we do these activities, the 'feel good' hormone, dopamine is released.
Your Reward Network is made up of both Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards.
Intrinsic Rewards are our internal motivators. A common quote that reflects an intrinsic motivator is, "Any job worth doing is worth doing well." These are the personal motivators we give ourselves when we feel a sense of accomplishment or competence when completing a task. Remember, dopamine is released and that makes us feel good.
An Extrinsic Reward is an outside motivator. An easy one to identify here is money.
Both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are necessary to be successful. But things are rarely intrinsically motivating first. We need extrinsic motivation to get us over the proficiency hump. Things like money, having a job, a promotion, a grade, coaches, teachers and parents are all examples of extrinsic (outside) motivators. They motivate us to get good at something. NOTE: Extrinsic motivators also cause the release of dopamine.
