Photo taken in Copenhagen, Denmark
The Things We Do
One of my favorite parts of teaching English as a foreign language was the creativity involved in lesson planning. At the language school I worked for in Prague, teachers had access to a library of materials to meet the needs of all English levels and group sizes.
Each week, I searched for just the right content and began designing lessons along with exercises to match. What made this so enjoyable was the wide range of topics available.
From business to culture to psychology to politics and beyond, I had a whole world of ideas to choose from as I created ways to build students’ English skills both at home and in the workplace. One lesson I remember well focused on psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs.”
This pyramid diagram outlined the reasons behind human behavior. Maslow divided our needs into five levels and ranked them in this order: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
The pyramid sparked plenty of debate and discussion during class. Most students agreed with the general categories and their importance.
After all, it’s hard to argue against basic resources being essential for survival. Food, shelter, income, and social connection are clearly vital to both our physical and mental well-being.
Still, the most disagreement came from the order of these needs. Some students felt that “belonging” should come before all else, while others argued that safety and security deserved top priority.
Perhaps such preferences vary from person to person. Either way, it’s useful to explore why we do the things we do.
Personally, I find it helpful to question where my drive comes from. What gives us the momentum to keep going? What motivates us in the moment and over the long term?
It was in those very classes that I began grappling with such questions—especially while studying the top of Maslow’s pyramid. For at the peak stood what he believed to be our highest need: self-actualization—a concept I had never truly explored until I began to reflect more deeply on what motivation really is.
Outside Ourselves
It’s common to think of motivation as coming from outside sources. That makes sense, especially when we consider the rewards people often receive for certain actions or achievements.
In the workplace, perks like promotions, bonuses, raises, and benefits fall into this category. Even titles like “Employee of the Month” or “Partner of the Quarter” can give a strong boost to our sense of value and recognition.
We learn early on how meaningful praise can be. Whether it was a sticker for good behavior or hearing our essay read aloud by a teacher, these are the moments that teach us what it feels like to be acknowledged.
We remember them because they shaped our first experiences with validation. But ultimately, these are all external motivators—things that exist outside of us and focus on tangible rewards.
Research shows that while these external rewards work well for repetitive or tedious tasks, they can actually have the opposite effect on creative work. Psychologists have found that the more you attach outside incentives to a project, the more likely you are to lose your original sense of motivation.
Surprisingly, adding a reward after an enjoyable activity can sometimes backfire, pulling focus away from the joy of the experience itself. This can cause people to lose touch with the very spark that drew them in to begin with.
It’s as if something that once felt like play suddenly becomes tedious work. In Drive, Author Daniel Pink writes:
“Adding certain kinds of extrinsic rewards on top of inherently interesting tasks can often dampen motivation and performance.”
Personal Fuel
It isn’t always easy to recognize, but there are moments when we tap into intrinsic motivation. These are the flashes of energy and inspiration we feel when we’re doing something we truly enjoy.
This type of motivation often shows up in our favorite sports, hobbies, pastimes, or interests. They tend to align with our personal tastes and how we choose to spend our free time.
These are the things we do for the fun of it. That’s why it’s ideal to find a career that feels personally meaningful—it increases the chances of lasting fulfillment.
Because when you find deep satisfaction in something you love, you tap into your core source of intrinsic motivation. This is motivation that arises from within—driven by a natural sense of aliveness.
In Drive, Daniel Pink describes three key types of intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. These values motivate us from the inside because the very act of pursuing them brings energy and fulfillment.
They give us the momentum to keep learning and growing, focusing more on the process than the outcome. This mindset supports healthy striving, with personal development as the goal.
In this way, simply making consistent effort becomes a powerful form of motivation. It leads to genuine self-esteem—not based on status, possessions, or other people’s approval, but on inner alignment.
In Horae Canonicae, W.H. Auden writes:
“You need not see what someone is doing to see if it is his vocation, you have only to watch his eyes; a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading, wear that same rapt expression, forgetting themselves in a function. How beautiful it is that eye-on-the-object look.”
End Itself
One of the most powerful ways to better understand your personal drive is by knowing the difference between intention and motivation. Setting an intention is helpful for reaching a goal.
But finding the motivation to achieve that goal means understanding why it truly matters to you. Sometimes, the reason is a stepping stone to an even bigger purpose.
Other times, the reason is the purpose itself. It’s the difference between doing something just to check it off a list versus doing something because of the value it continues to bring into your life.
That may sound abstract, but I’ve found these subtle distinctions can be surprisingly clarifying. I never thought much about whether I was treating something as a means or an end—until I studied Immanuel Kant in college.
Kant emphasized the importance of respecting each person—not as a tool for personal gain, but as an end in themselves. He believed treating someone merely as a means diminishes both the relationship and the experience.
Though his philosophy focused on how we treat others, I began wondering whether we could apply that same idea to how we treat the things we care about. Don’t we often treat our activities this way—simply as a means to something else?
And doesn’t that impact our sense of motivation? Are we just racing through life to get things over with?
But when we treat our projects and passions as ends in themselves, we unlock the gifts of intrinsic motivation: growth, expression, and joy through the act itself.
What could be more fulfilling than the experience of fulfillment itself? In The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant writes:
“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.”
Highest Peak
When you’re running your own race, it’s natural to struggle along the way. We all get distracted or discouraged sometimes.
We’re only human. But it helps to pause and reflect when our energy is running low. Why doesn’t my motivation feel as strong as it could?
Why am I doing this in the first place? Is it truly about reaching the goal—or is it about something deeper?
For me, I can often tell the difference between working just to achieve something and working because the effort feels meaningful. My level of focus reveals whether I’m extrinsically motivated or driven from within.
The former feels calculating and narrow. The latter feels expansive and inspired. It’s the difference between crossing a finish line with a sigh of relief versus arriving there joyfully, every step fueled by belief.
It took time, but I eventually came to understand how this connects with Maslow’s pyramid—and what it really means to reach the highest point. Because self-actualization is the realization of your full potential. It’s the desire and will to become the best version of yourself.
This is the source of all true motivation. And what could be more inspiring than the joy and freedom of personal transformation?
It means doing your best not for the sake of being the best but because doing so gives you all the purpose you need to keep going—to keep growing with continuous progress, like the movement of an upward spiral that extends higher and higher, toward the end we may never see, but perhaps, were always meant to feel.
