Andrew Eckhart

Talkin’ Bout My Motivation

Posted on 08 November 2010

I read about motivation in my psychology class a couple of years ago. Apparently, there are those who are motivated internally, that is they have an internal drive to do things more often than not. And then there are those who are motivated externally, people who need an external force to get them moving to do something.

I’m most definitely the sort of person who needs external motivation. Especially on projects. Without the external motivation of a deadline or a promise of something great at completion, things don’t get done. This is why I work, because the motivation is that I get paid at the end of a certain period for those hours that I’ve worked.

But translating this into a creative drive is difficult. Specifically because, well, I don’t really get anything for putting myself out there for people to read and peruse. I don’t get paid for the things I put up at LastMage.com nor do I get paid for putting stuff up here or on my other blog. So, why is it that I continue to try to do these things?

I suppose I want, on a fundamental level, to share these things because I like to share with people. It is an internal pleasure when I find that someone enjoyed an article of mine, or even took the time to read it. It is a massive joy when I find that people actually come back to read my works, and more than that, comment on it giving constructive criticism. And in that vein I suppose that’s an external motivation as well. It’s a motivation that comes from outside of me rather than internally.

So I think what I’m saying is that I need to put a few more deadlines in my calendar. I need to focus on doing things in a timely, efficient manner so that people will come to expect certain things from me on a regular basis. And, in that way, they may reciprocate when feedback or commenting is needed.

I don’t know. Let’s just move forward and find out.