Intrinsic or Extrinsic............which are you?

paint_it_black

Is it possible to be neither? I don't give a rats *kitten* what anyone else thinks of my appearance, I do things for me. But that being said I don't enjoy counting calories or exercising all that much. So i'm not really sure what that makes me.

amysj303

I don't know which one I am. I don't like working out but I get some satisfaction from having done it, like sticking to a program, and I reward myself for it, so that is sort of extrinsic?

amysj303

Just took a meyers briggs test lol
I'm VERY intrinsic.
Interesting information thanks for sharing!

Post the test for others to take.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I have taken Meyer's Briggs before, it doesn't have an "intrinsic" spectrum that I recall...

shannypoo21

I would have to say extrinsic. I'm not preparing for any major event but I definitely want to look good. There are times where I would say I am intrinsic but then vanity kicks in. I definitely don't want the health problems that many of my family members are facing and I don't want to continue fighting the battle of weight loss as time goes on. So I do believe as this journey continues and I start learning more and more about myself and life I think my 'rewards' will change and have different value.

kcoftx

Edit to add: I would shorten this for more cohesion and readability but I'm on my phone. I'm a talker. I already owned it.

I thought about this topic while I was preparing for my comps in college. I realize that I have three driving factors. I am goal-oriented, motivated by learning, and I am motivated by social interaction.

I stopped even looking at my grades for the most part a long time ago. I cared more about what I learned from my class projects than I did the grades themselves. As a result, my grades were high. When I was 18, learning for the same of learning wasn't my motivation and my grades reflected it. Now that I've finished my degree, I find myself sinking into more topics.

While I started exercising as a try and see basis initially because I realized that most of it was mental and I needed to be more open to it, I got more into it once I started learning more about it and when I started having purpose and goals. Honestly, I am looking to change my body composition but the real goal is learning more about what exercise does for me and to me. Without that, I think I would have stopped where I'm at and maintained.

I am motivated by social interaction. I don't need wtg, etc. I need discussion. It is the reason I join forums, send messages, etc. I need that active intellectual dialogue about a topic. One friend felt I was abusing her generosity one time because I was asking questions and engaging in dialogue about a topic and she is a paid tutor. I wasn't paying her. I apologized to her but it wasn't that I needed the answers, I needed the stimulation from active discussion.

But there are other parts of social motivation. It is the reason, for example, that I chose exercise classes as my first venue because I knew I would be more energized by the group dynamic. There was a point, however, that I chose home videos because I was curious to see the outcome and was experimenting with it. Not to mention sometimes convenience plays a role.

But if the members of my household aren't on the same page, etc. That really doesn't change how I approach my own goals. Ultimately, the goals are mine.

I don't always find the actual act of exercising that pleasurable (except for Zumba), but reaching goals, learning more about it, and yes even seeing the results are all enough to motivate me to continue what started out being something I was just agreeing to try it out and be more open-minded about it.

By goals, I don't even really mean weight loss. Heck, I was thrilled and announced it to the world yesterday when after months of trying and failing to do one single military style push up, after 2 weeks of trying lifting heavy, I could do seven of those bad boys. On my summer bucket list, I literally wrote that I wanted to be able to do 5 regular push ups. I selected a low number because 60 days of circuit training still had not yielded the results. (Another factor besides lifting heavy that could have affected those results is because I switched from practicing with knee pushups to doing wall and incline as the modification after learning that knee push ups, even though they are called modified push ups, do not prepare you for the full push ups because it is a different exercise).

Goals and even social change also drive my advocacy projects. I am motivated by the results but mostly I act as if I could not fail because I'm motivated by the task of achieving a purpose. I'm not motivated by money but if I can make some sort of change, some sort of difference--I have motivation. I have purpose. I have goals. In that sense, the external drives the intrinsic.

heybales

Just took a meyers briggs test lol
I'm VERY intrinsic.
Interesting information thanks for sharing!

Post the test for others to take.

I have taken Meyer's Briggs before, it doesn't have an "intrinsic" spectrum that I recall...

Probably meaning introvert, and we are stealing his energy right now talking to him! ;-)

ninerbuff

bump

belladonna786

Intrinsic, I really don't care for the comments or rewards. I love what I do and I do it because I love it.

ninerbuff

Intrinsic, I really don't care for the comments or rewards. I love what I do and I do it because I love it.

Same here. Although I will say I started extrinsic before becoming intrinsic and that's not unusual for a lot of people.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

NCchar130

I think I'm a mix of both. I do much better when I'm running on intrinsic motivation for sure. That's how my weight loss has happened and it's how I stay involved in my favorite hobbies, even though they aren't popular with many other people. Intrinsic motivation is how I stick to things I believe in the most, even if not popular. However, I only go to work for the paycheck. That's the only motivating factor in me showing up and doing my job. I don't enjoy it; it requires a lot of mental effort to even appear like I do. I find it very hard to do anything just because someone else wants me to or because there's a threat hanging over my head if I don't do it. My work-around with situations like this is to try to find a way to make it fun and satisfying. For example, I'm satisfied with more clutter in my house than is, maybe, socially acceptable among my friends and family. When I feel like I have to straighten up because of friends/family coming over who I know will judge me unfavorably, I will get very stressed trying to meet their standards. But I can make it sort of fun with the right kind of music so I can dance while I do it.

ninerbuff

bump

ninerbuff

bump just to rehash

Meerataila

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

brianpperkins

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

It's only torture if you set it up to be. You can view weight loss as a short term goal or come to the understanding that long term, sustainable lower weight is the result of a healthier balance of intake and exercise.

Meerataila

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

It's only torture if you set it up to be. You can view weight loss as a short term goal or come to the understanding that long term, sustainable lower weight is the result of a healthier balance of intake and exercise.

And balancing that intake is torture. I am nearly always hungry no matter what I eat and how often. Never mind that very few people take daily enjoyment in sweating merely for the sake of burning some more calories off. Exercise and calorie counting aren't things I like to do.

KombuchaCat

Intrinsic. I'm not really bothered by external rewards. I like doing things because they are good for me.

brianpperkins

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

It's only torture if you set it up to be. You can view weight loss as a short term goal or come to the understanding that long term, sustainable lower weight is the result of a healthier balance of intake and exercise.

And balancing that intake is torture. I am nearly always hungry no matter what I eat and how often. Never mind that very few people take daily enjoyment in sweating merely for the sake of burning some more calories off. Exercise and calorie counting aren't things I like to do.

Sedentary and prone to overeating = doomed to yo-yoing. I'd bet this isn't the first time you've wanted to lose 20+ pounds and that it won't be the last. "I can quit anytime I want" ... something tells me you want to, and do, quit things quite often.

I don't sweat to burn more calories. I sweat to stay relatively fit. Stairs don't cause shortness of breath, going to the zoo with my family isn't a day of tortuous walking, pedaling a few miles eliminates a lot of parking hassles, sports are fun to play and not something to dread. I don't count calories either. I eat what I want ... pizza, beer, burgers, fries, steak, more beer, etc.

Then again, I didn't predetermine that eating realistic portions and keeping my butt active were torture.

Meerataila

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

It's only torture if you set it up to be. You can view weight loss as a short term goal or come to the understanding that long term, sustainable lower weight is the result of a healthier balance of intake and exercise.

And balancing that intake is torture. I am nearly always hungry no matter what I eat and how often. Never mind that very few people take daily enjoyment in sweating merely for the sake of burning some more calories off. Exercise and calorie counting aren't things I like to do.

Sedentary and prone to overeating = doomed to yo-yoing. I'd bet this isn't the first time you've wanted to lose 20+ pounds and that it won't be the last. "I can quit anytime I want" ... something tells me you want to, and do, quit things quite often.

I don't sweat to burn more calories. I sweat to stay relatively fit. Stairs don't cause shortness of breath, going to the zoo with my family isn't a day of tortuous walking, pedaling a few miles eliminates a lot of parking hassles, sports are fun to play and not something to dread. I don't count calories either. I eat what I want ... pizza, beer, burgers, fries, steak, more beer, etc.

Then again, I didn't predetermine that eating realistic portions and keeping my butt active were torture.

This is my last 20, of well over 100 pound loss. I've maintained at this weight over a year. But being chubby isn't much better than being obese and it's a lot harder, so I'm going to get the rest of this off. If I don't like how I feel, if I don't like how I look, and if I don't find a way to keep it off without driving myself nuts all the time, I'm going to get fat again. Quite deliberately. What is worthwhile to you might not be to other people. Keep that in mind.

brianpperkins

When it comes to weight loss, definitely extrinsic. I don't enjoy counting calories and watching every damn thing I eat. If it doesn't get me what I want or become less of a hassle very soon, I'm going to quit doing it. Life is short, why live it tortured?

It's only torture if you set it up to be. You can view weight loss as a short term goal or come to the understanding that long term, sustainable lower weight is the result of a healthier balance of intake and exercise.

And balancing that intake is torture. I am nearly always hungry no matter what I eat and how often. Never mind that very few people take daily enjoyment in sweating merely for the sake of burning some more calories off. Exercise and calorie counting aren't things I like to do.

Sedentary and prone to overeating = doomed to yo-yoing. I'd bet this isn't the first time you've wanted to lose 20+ pounds and that it won't be the last. "I can quit anytime I want" ... something tells me you want to, and do, quit things quite often.

I don't sweat to burn more calories. I sweat to stay relatively fit. Stairs don't cause shortness of breath, going to the zoo with my family isn't a day of tortuous walking, pedaling a few miles eliminates a lot of parking hassles, sports are fun to play and not something to dread. I don't count calories either. I eat what I want ... pizza, beer, burgers, fries, steak, more beer, etc.

Then again, I didn't predetermine that eating realistic portions and keeping my butt active were torture.

This is my last 20, of well over 100 pound loss. I've maintained at this weight over a year. But being chubby isn't much better than being obese and it's a lot harder, so I'm going to get the rest of this off. If I don't like how I feel, if I don't like how I look, and if I don't find a way to keep it off without driving myself nuts all the time, I'm going to get fat again. Quite deliberately. What is worthwhile to you might not be to other people. Keep that in mind.

Your mindset is quite revealing. You predetermined something is torture and made it a self fulling prophecy. That's a path to continual failure. Keep that in mind.

Meerataila

Your mindset is quite revealing. You predetermined something is torture and made it a self fulling prophecy. That's a path to continual failure. Keep that in mind.

Oh dear, you sound like one of those mystical thinkers. Reality exists. Everyone who has ever had a toothache knows that.

brianpperkins

Your mindset is quite revealing. You predetermined something is torture and made it a self fulling prophecy. That's a path to continual failure. Keep that in mind.

Oh dear, you sound like one of those mystical thinkers. Reality exists. Everyone who has ever had a toothache knows that.

There is a difference in a physiological pain response, i.e. a toothache, and determining that eating sensibly and exercising are "torture" (your choice of that word shows you've never seen real torture and its results first hand).


Good luck on your impending deliberate gain which will put you back to a place where you determined you needed to lose weight ... rinse ... repeat.

Hearts_2015

helpful, thanks!

Timshel_

Intrinsic, optimistic, and centered.