Try my magic motivator quiz
This quick quiz will reveal whether the magic of your mindset makes you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.
Question one
What motivates me most is…
A. Getting praise and recognition from family and friends
B. Fitting into smaller size clothing and looking better
C. Having more energy and living a more active life
D. Feeling happier and more positive towards myself and having better self-esteem
Question two
I exercise regularly because…
A. I believe it will help me lose weight
B. I want my body to look a little more toned or build muscles
C. It gives my mood a boost and I feel much better after I’ve exercised
D. I actually really enjoy exercising while I’m doing it
Question three
I choose to cook from scratch instead of ordering takeaways because…
A. I know it will help me to lose weight because I won’t be eating processed foods
B. You never know what takeaway food contains and it’s possibly full of sugar
C. I actually feel better when I choose something healthier to eat
D. I enjoy the process of choosing what to cook and then cooking it myself
Question four
I’ve started doing Park Run because…
A. I want to impress friends and family
B. I want the recognition for crossing the finish line
C. It’s a good reason for me to make the time to run more because I need exercise
D. I want to prove to myself that I can achieve this and run all the way round without stopping
What your scores mean
If you scored mostly As and Bs, your main source of motivation is extrinsic. This is when we are performing an activity or behaviour in order to earn reward or avoid punishment.
We’re not choosing to do the activity because we enjoy it or find it rewarding but rather because we learn something in return or avoid something unpleasant.
If you have mostly Cs and Ds your main source of motivation is intrinsic.
This involves engaging in a behaviour or activity because it’s personally rewarding. This is about our values and what’s important to us.
It means we’re doing it for ourselves and we are personally invested in the process rather than what we’ll get as a result. We see the behaviour itself as its own reward.
So which motivator is more effective?
People who are intrinsically motivated get pleasure from the mental and physical benefits of weight loss this can be changes in their mood, their energy and their self-esteem. It’s not about what other people think.
But research has shown that extrinsic motivation only keeps us motivated short term and we need to shift to intrinsic motivation to get long term results this is when things become automatic.
How do you develop intrinsic motivation?
If you’ve discovered just now that you that you’re more extrinsically motivated, it can be really helpful to have a think about this and start changing the focus.
Slimpod helps with this because by its nature it helps you to be intrinsically motivated.
You see, it takes repetition of a behaviour before we start to change from extrinsic to intrinsic. It’s also hugely about your values and what matters to you most.
You can start doing this by creating a goal map (Level 2 gives you the info on this!) or updating your existing goal map because this will really help you dig deep into your why and make the ‘why’ far more powerful.
For example, instead of the middle box saying “I want to lose weight and look better in my clothes” it could say “I want to lose weight because I want to feel healthier, more energetic and improve my self-esteem.”
Weight loss then becomes the side effect of this.
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