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00:01:11 In 2018, Daniel Pink released a book entitled Drive.

00:03:45 If I ask you to sum up your life with one sentence only, would you be able to do it?

00:08:19 How to Ignite Your Intrinsic Motivation to Reach Your Passion

00:09:09 The Clear Path

00:09:50 Todd Henry, author of The Accidental Creative and Louder Than Words

00:18:57 That is from Peter Holland's book The Lifelong Learner.

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If I asked you to sum up your life with one sentence only, would you be able to do it?

#AmauryGuichon #Compassion #CompassionateAnger #ConstructivePassion #CreativePassion #DanielPink #Guichon #IntrinsicMotivation #KarenPutz #ToddHenry #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf

He preserved the union and freed the slaves. Most of us would know that's referring to Abraham Lincoln. The point Daniel Pink is trying to make is that he's challenging us to regain focus and clearly define our mission in life. And that is the focus of today's episode finding our One Sentence. Thanks for joining us today. This is from Peter Holland's book The Lifelong Learner. Everyone loves a good story. Whether it's a thrilling adventure tale, a heartwarming slice of life, or a side splitting comedy, there are few things more enjoyable than getting lost in the power of a great storyteller. From classic folktales passed down through generations to the latest binge worthy show on Netflix, the art of telling through words has been around for centuries. How we feel about what we do is less about the activity itself and more so about how we perceive it.

For example, I too sometimes get plagued by thoughts of how mundane, monotonous, and pointless my job is. But then I pause and think about how many lives I save every single day, deep from within the throes of mental illness. If some of my patients didn't have me, they'd have nobody. Similarly, try to look at the grand scheme of things and trust the process. Does an artist give up working on his painting after the first stroke? Does a musician give up after his first lyric? Does a doctor give up when his patient passes away? Does an astronaut stop searching for intelligent life just because the probability of life outside our universe is so low? No. They know that all of this is going to be worth the masterpiece they create or find in the end, they believe in their purpose, and they have narratives surrounding their passions.

What's yours? To make it easier, think about how you want to be viewed by others or your top values and interests, and weave those together into one succinct statement. Think about your goals and ask yourself, am I closer today to achieving my goals? Is there something I need to do so that I can move in the right direction? How can I improve my strategy? Your statement doesn't have to be anything overly complex. Just remember to make it meaningful to you so that it will resonate with you and anyone else who reads it. It could be something as simple as I am a clinical psychologist and I help save lives every day, or I'm an artist connecting people when words fail. That way, when someone asks you to tell them a bit about yourself, you'll have something great to share. How can I increase my intrinsic motivation so that I learn better?

You need to engage yourself in accordance with your basic psychological needs to help boost your intrinsic motivation. Ask yourself the following questions do you have some control over when and how you do your work? Autonomy is this task interesting, unique, and conducive to mastery competence? Or is it mindless, monotonous and rote learning? Do you understand the significance or aim of this piece of work? For example, it could lead to something more advanced or a larger piece of work. So they need to understand why you're doing what you are. Give yourself the chance to explore your own interests and discover something new. Setting aside some time for yourself to work on an idea or project of your choice will help nurture autonomy, creativity and problem solving skills. It's also important to know how to offer yourself praise, because the way we often do it is extremely damaging to our intrinsic motivation.

For example, you might have heard your mama say, if you get an A on this test, you can have pizza for dinner. You end up studying hard, not because you genuinely want to or enjoy it. You'll do it for the pizza. This can damage creativity and intrinsic motivation. Therefore, instead of praising yourself for being smart, praise your hard work and good planning. Let's go back to John's example and how he set up healthy learning goals for himself. He shouldn't be praised because he received an A. We need to focus on the specifics here. His ability to create a healthy schedule and goals should be praised. His ability to persevere and be consistent should be applauded.

These are the qualities that made him stand out, and they should be praised. It is important that kids and adults who are learning get credit for the challenges they take on and the work they do, rather than just focusing on hearing praise when they've achieved a desired result. Only give yourself compliments when you have a good reason. Don't praise everything. Instead, recognize extra effort and be sincere. Praise is a powerful way to motivate people, but if it's not done right, it can cancel out a lot of the good it does. How to Ignite Your Intrinsic Motivation to Reach Your Passion while it is critical to balance both intrinsic and extrinsic drive, an inner motive is frequently more difficult to find. We live in a world full of external incentives, from money to celebrities to job advancements, and it's easy to lose sight of our internal objective. Intrinsic motivation is a critical component of success. It is what enables you to build your passions and ambitions based on you, rather than extraneous influences.

Having fulfilled the requirements of autonomy, competence and relatedness, we now recall the five stages of passion discussed earlier. The Clear Path the first stage we had was curiosity. Keep in mind that without autonomy, there will be no curiosity, because what's the point in chasing it, really? That's surely not how you're going to pass that class. Feeding your curiosity is one of the finest methods to help you build your passion. Curiosity generates new challenges, new experiences, and personal growth, all of which contribute to success. What piques your curiosity? What is something you've always wanted to study or do, but haven't gotten around to doing? Todd Henry, author of The Accidental Creative and Louder Than Words, advises on an exercise called the Notables. When assisting clients in discovering their secret passion, he suggests writing down your answers to the following questions what angers you?

What makes you cry? What gives you hope? I'm talking about compassionate anger, Henry clarifies. As opposed to raging road rage, compassion implies to suffer together. What gives you sympathetic rage? What do you go through and immediately think someone should do something about it? According to Henry, that someone is probably you. And now you've stumbled into a clue to the creative passion that will fuel your most important work here. You have to indulge in your curiosity to find creative ways you can approach this. For example, when I'm coming back from work and I see all the homeless sprawled around the sidewalks, I think to myself, someone needs to figure out how to eradicate homelessness for good.

I haven't yet figured out if that someone is supposed to be me, but it's definitely something to think about. Maybe my profession as a psychologist is an echo of that passion. Passion to ease someone else's pain however I can. Who knows? Things that affect us emotionally are excellent indicators of constructive passion. Is there something that moves you deeply? Is there something that fills you with unbridled hope? Is there something that only you can find value in while others surrounding you don't necessarily understand it? Maybe it's something about working with children. Maybe it's music and you want to be a songwriter one day.

Maybe it's art. Maybe it's writing. Maybe it's graphic design. If you notice a consistent theme across things that result in a deep emotional impact, maybe it's something you'd want to pursue. Remember, some of the greatest ideas and inventions we have today came from people who saw diamonds in coal long before anyone else could see them. Moreover, you can also think about the following questions suggested by Karen Putts this can help you self evaluate. Ponder your past. What was a major moment of joy in your past? Who were you with? What were you doing?

Where were you? Explore the Present when you're standing in line at the DMV, waiting at the dentist's office, or sitting in a boring meeting, can you note what thoughts or memories or wishes pop up? The answers to these questions will serve as clues to your passions. Contemplate the Future what are you putting off for the future? What's on your someday list? Someday when I have money, when the kids are old enough, when I retire, et cetera. What do you dream about? After identifying your delayed intentions, create an action plan to start in the here and now, not someday. Now that we've done a significant amount of homework. Cultivating and igniting our intrinsic motivation, kept our curiosity burning, answered lots of questions about what sparks joy within us.

It's time to actually inventory your talents and get to the nitty gritty and start your search for your passion. Begin by taking detailed inventory of your talents. Everyone has something they are incredibly good at, even if they'll never believe it. Ask yourself if there's something that you particularly enjoy doing or have a special knack for. It can be anything that brings you joy. For example, you might love to paint, draw, write music, take pictures, or write poems. You might have a special skill like carpentry or pottery. Or you might be our upcoming Amareguchon, who is a French swish chef with a passion for creating edible chocolate sculptures. Seriously, the sheer joy on that man's face as he fashions those incredible pieces of art is just otherworldly and beautiful. So in case something isn't making you as happy as chocolate makes Gishon happy, then it probably isn't your passion.

Remember, intrinsic motivation increases and ignites when something sparks joy deep within you. Your curiosity should unearth that source of joy in order to allow you to develop your passion. Also, pay attention to anyone who makes you super annoyed or jealous. Sometimes those feelings stem from an unmet desire that we have long buried? Is there someone with a hobby who annoys you? Perhaps someone who travels a lot? Is the truth behind that annoyance a yearning for similar circumstances and freedom? Perhaps this was something that you always wanted for yourself, but never had the courage to pursue. Go back to your childhood and think about what you loved doing the most. Most children are sure of exactly what they want and what would make them the happiest before adults infect them with their own ideas of what they think a child should love.

Thinking back to my childhood often brings a vivid image of me playing make believe with the neighborhood children for hours on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we would let our imaginations run wild as we turned the playground into an alternate universe where the slide was an ancient temple and the swing set represented a magical forest. We could be heroes or villains, monarchs or outlaws in another realm of life that seemed far more exciting than school or chores. I can still vividly recall how much joy these adventures brought to my youthful heart and soul. Ultimately, it was these adventures that led me to discover my passion for writing stories about my travels across the world. These stories brought me the same joy that I felt as a kid running around wildly across that playground so many years ago. Perhaps there's something long buried from your childhood, too. If you've been looking for a sign to get that musty old guitar out of your garage or drag out that easel lying in the attic, this is it. Do it now. You'll notice how you lose track of time and portal to a time where you were the happiest and felt the freest you've ever been. When I write, I don't experience time as I normally would.

I have to drag myself away to attend to things I'd rather not be doing. When you find joy in doing something, you'll never get tired of it. Most importantly, see your passion hunt as a fun and joyful adventure. During group therapy, I observe so many of my clients put undue pressure on themselves to find their passion. While I do believe that it's essential we all have that one thing that lights us up with childlike wonder, it's equally important that we don't feel pressured to locate it. You have to gradually open yourself up to experiencing new things. Don't take the journey of self discovery too seriously. You'll be learning and growing, so don't be afraid to make mistakes. Play and adventure should be critical aspects of this hunt. You will fall, you will fail, and you will get hurt.

But in the end, this is all going to be worth it, for you will have found a treasure of a passion that very few are lucky to call their own. Pay attention to what makes you happy, what lights you up, what you yearn more. For once, something sparks joy. Hold on to it, make time for it and feel how it transforms your life. Once again. That is from Peter Holland's book The Lifelong Learner. The audiobook is available on Audible, Amazon and itunes, and the book itself available, of course, on Amazon. You can contact the author at bitley peterhollins. We mentioned at the beginning of the episode that today is Apparatif Day. For those of you that might be unaware, an apparatif is an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite.

Second, focus on learning goals rather than results based goals. Learning happens regardless of whether you achieve your desired results. Lastly, connect work with a higher cause or something that gives your work greater meaning. Intrinsic motivation contributes to success by enabling you to build your passions and ambitions based on you rather than extraneous influences. To ignite intrinsic motivation, consider what angers or moves you emotionally, what piques your curiosity or what you love doing in childhood. Work on your perspective and find the one sentence that perfectly defines you. Take inventory of your talents and look for things that bring you joy. If something annoys or makes you feel envious, there may be an unmet desire buried there that could be worth pursuing as a passionate project. That brings us to the end of today's episode and a few closing notes here. Just when you thought reality TV couldn't get any worse, The Bachelor is coming back this fall.

The popular franchise is showcasing a new type of love story about singles over 65 years old. Stay away from that one. Today's birthday list. Ava Pearl george Straight, the classic country singer mr. Cartoon, as well as the multitalented Tina Fey. Our ending quote today comes Sugar Ray Leonard, a boxing legend born this week.