So I’ve been blogging a lot about the importance of connecting your behaviors to your values, but a question that some are brave enough to ask is, “How do I know what my values are?”

I say that some are brave enough to ask, because there always seems to be an assumption that you should just know what you value with little to no thought involved. Often people will just rattle off those things that they think they should value…family, friendships, religion, kindness, etc. I’m not saying that these examples are not sincere if they are on your list, but sometimes we feel we need to include certain values based on others’ judgments of right and wrong.

To understand what you truly value, you have to look at what motivates you. Hopefully, you will find values that are positive to you and others in your life. Maybe you won’t like what you discover though. Perhaps you will find some disconnects that exist in your life between what you value, what you might want to value, and what your behaviors are.

Motivation is what drives us. When you find yourself motivated to engage in a certain activity or behavior, the source of that motivation stems from something deeper. Motivation takes shape in two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. Both are acceptable forms of motivation, and as I describe the two types in more detail, you will see that it still all comes back to values.

Extrinsic Motivation

This type of motivation exists when you are driven by something outside of yourself. Most often, extrinsic motivators are things that are physical or tangible.

The obvious example for extrinsic motivation is money. It’s common in many businesses or professional sports to offer cash bonuses for reaching certain milestones. For those who value money, that is an effective method of motivation. Awards, trophies, recognition, and prizes are examples. However, despite these being tangible objects, the motivation for some to want them is still rooted in their personal values. Maybe it’s greed, maybe it’s wealth or achievement. Maybe it’s the attention that comes with attaining something. It could be materialism. Or, it could be that you or your family is depending on the outcome of what you’re doing to survive. Whatever the value is, own it as your value, because it’s what’s driving you.

Intrinsic Motivation

This type of motivation exists from the pure satisfaction of doing something for the sake of doing it.

When are you motivated from within, the things that you are working towards become a part of you. Your behaviors and goals become an extension of who you are as a person. Maybe you’re motivated to take a challenging class because you are fascinated by the topic, not because you want to brag to your buddies or because you want a job in that field…you’re motivated by the enjoyment of learning. Maybe you put in hours and hours on the basketball court working on your jump shot, not because you’re hoping to join LeBron and company in Miami, but because you want to master the skill. That’s intrinsic motivation.

If you haven’t figured out by reading my previous posts, I’m probably a little more biased to finding intrinsic motivation for working towards your vision and goals. In my opinion, while they can be effective in the short-term, extrinsic motivators can disappear at a moment’s notice. I think we all learned in the last couple of years, that money, bonuses, and such are not constant. Intrinsic motivators, on the other hand, you can control. I will concentrate some of my future blog articles on how you can better find the internal motivation within you.

Stories and Theories on Motivation

Despite being biased towards intrinsic motivation for aligning your vision, values, and goals, I want to share two different videos with you. I’ll be honest, the first one is a tear-jerker! It’s an example of a man who is extrinsically motivated, but that motivation is definitely based on his values of family and love in the most sincerest sense. And, even though the video is my example of extrinsic motivation in someone else, it helped me reconnect with my intrinsic motivation for running marathons…because I can.

The second video is a unique animated version of Dan Pink’s Ted Talk on Intrinsic Motivation. He uses scientific research to show us that everything we had thought about extrinsic motivators in the workplace might be wrong. I’m fascinated by it! Enjoy, and let me know what you think.