Are You Motivated More By the Carrot or the Whip?

Whether you realize it or not, motivation is a huge force in your life, and it needs to be harnessed in order to excel and actually enjoy whatever it is that you’re doing on a daily basis. If you find yourself thinking, “I need motivation,” there are specific steps you can take.....
Unfortunately, we often overgeneralize the word motivation. We think of being either motivated or unmotivated as a simple “yes” or “no” state of being. But motivation is not a switch. Motivation is a process. To feel motivated, you need to move beneath the surface. Just reading a motivational quote, being encouraged by your friends, or writing out cute affirmations won’t help you build sustainable motivation (they do help in the process!)
You can think of the motivation that we want to achieve like the Sun (self-sustaining and long-lasting), which supplies a constant influx of energy to all life on Earth. Just like the Sun, our “motivation engine” has different layers, starting from the core and spreading out to the surface. The surface is what you see, but the real process is driven from the core (your internal motivation); and that’s the most important part. Once we can create a self-sustaining motivation engine, we’ll be able to find more meaning to our lives and enjoy every minute of what we’re doing, which will make our roles and responsibilities less of a chore.

Let's examine the motivation process to better understand it by breaking it down into 3 parts:
1 ~ Core – Purpose
2 ~ Support – Enablers
3~ Surface – Acknowledgement

Let's look first at the Third Layer, the Surface

The outermost layer, also known as Acknowledgement, encompasses any type of external recognition or reward (the "Carrot") that might give you motivation. It may come in the form of respect or recognition, such as compliments and praise. Or it could be emotional support through encouragement, feedback, and constructive criticism. It could also be affiliation, where you have mutual companions or buddies sharing the same goal or burden with you. Unfortunately, it is at this same layer that the opposite force can engage! Both the "carrot" and the "whip" are only temporary motivators. The carrot (reward) must continue to increase in size. The whip (threat of negative consequence) will cause a calous to eliminate the pain, thus becoming ineffective! The carrot is more of a “pull” approach to motivation, while the whip is more of a “pain, push, or prod” approach. With the carrot you move towards something, while with the whip, you move away from something. The resulting behaviour is the same!

The seond layer comes into play here! In essence, this layer of the motivation engine (also known as Enablers) is what supports your goals. It can magnify the motivation core you are developing, or speed up the momentum as you build. Basically, it can create favorable circumstances for things to go smoothly. This could include friends and family, affirmations, uplifting literature or any support network you’ve created in life!

The true driving force behind your motivation process, is the innermost core, your Purpose. Your purpose is what differentiates the motivated from the unmotivated, the achievers from the underachievers, the happy from the unhappy. Your motivational core is your Purpose, and it is sustained by two things: having meaning, and forward movement. With these two as a foundation, you’ll have a power source that will feed you motivational energy indefinitely and without the "carrot" or the "whip"!


To learn to motivate yourself, ask yourself a question..."WHY?"