The Importance Of Intrinsic Interest

Most of the time, when I sit down to write, it involves something I have been thinking about or going through that week, or at most the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes, though, the time comes when the pen needs to hit paper, and there’s nothing there. No ideas, no thoughts, and no experiences to draw upon.

When this comes, I usually revert to the notes in my phone or my Google Docs that contain random thoughts I sporadically get throughout life, or the list of blog ideas I have saved.

Last week, neither an idea in my mind nor the written ideas were giving enough fuel to the fire; there was nothing I could think about that I actually wanted to write about.

One of the ideas was something that I had recently had a lot of interest in, but for whatever reason, on this day, I just couldn’t make it work.

Even though I tried, even though I kept myself on that chair and forced myself to come up with something worth sharing, there just wasn’t any flow. 

Each sentence felt clunky, ideas seemed forced, and the page filled slower than you can imagine. No rhythm, no interest.

So I took a break. I thought that if I went away and sat on it for a while, it might oxygenate the flames.

I sat in the garden with the sun on my face, thinking about something I had recently gone through, planning my next moves and feeling the excitement of making a difference.

Then it hit me. Why not write about it? I debated it for a short while because it wasn’t my usual type of blog, but I felt such a strong pull toward what I was thinking that I just felt compelled to write.

And so I went upstairs and started. Within 20 minutes of flow, I had finished.

No distractions, no leaning back in my chair in frustration, and nothing forced. Pure focus.

This is the difference between something you’re intrinsically motivated to do and something you’re only doing because you “need to”.

Let’s not forget that I still chose something I was interested in the first time, but due to its lack of potency, the effort had to be conjured instead of being naturally present.

Now think of someone who is chasing a goal purely for what that goal brings instead of doing so for the goal itself. Think of starting any business for the money, think of a fitness journey for external validation and think of chasing a career for parental acceptance.

All of these things are hard to achieve, they take a long amount of sustained effort. This includes mornings where simply doing another rep is the very last thing you want to do.

These days, and they’re not rare, are a similar condition to what I experienced trying to write that blog. I wasn’t doing it because I truly wanted to, and so it became so much harder to do.

Also, not only did finding something I was intrinsically interested in allow me to write that blog efficiently and to a better quality, but it also led to the one I’m writing now.

That’s the power of intrinsic motivation.

When you’re doing what you love, the likelihood of success skyrockets because on the days when you feel like doing it the least, it’s the love of the process itself that’ll get you through.

I’ve played around with this a lot myself. I have pursued things purely because I wanted what they would ultimately allow me to get, and even what they’d allow me to escape. I’ve even convinced myself and listened to the people who said that doing what you love is a bad idea.

But through sheer experience, one’s similar to the one I just described - doing what you love and what you’re intrinsically motivated to do can't be beaten and should always be prioritised.

Before you start something, ask yourself, are you doing it because you love it or just because you want what it brings?

Would you do it for free? Is it something you’re drawn towards without having to try? Does time disappear when you’re doing it?

These are signs that you’re intrinsically interested, therefore, definitely worth exploring.