Rob Eakin Triathlete

Motivation – Part 3

So we want to be extrinsically motivated and we're ok with that. The problem is if you're extrinsic all the time, and you're open with it, you end up being obnoxious and arrogant. So we need to find a way to be, as I'm calling it, internally extrinsic and externally intrinsic.

Every athlete who has ever been great has been extrinsic. No matter who you think of, it was their desire and passion to be better than everyone else, their desire for victory and the glory that comes with it, that made them as great as they were. It's just that some are better at concealing it than others. Which is why I also like to call this "Be Steve Nash not Terrell Owens".

Steve Nash is praised not only for being a great basketball player but a great ambassador for the game and all around good guy. He has the typical "Canadian niceness" about him that endears him to everyone. But I guarantee that underneath there is a fire that drives him to be better than everyone else and that wants that NBA championship. You don't spend hour after hour practicing foul shots in your driveway like he did when he was young simply because it makes you feel good about yourself.

On the other side there are guys like Terrel Owen who will take every opportunity to tell you how great they are and how they are going to beat everyone they face. They are the external extrinsics that no one can stand.

In my rashness, I've made the mistake of letting my extrinsic personality out of the bag. In the heat of some playful trash talking I once claimed that I would be faster than a close friend of mine right to their face. To be honest, I didn't even think twice about it at the time and it wasn't until much later, when they let me know how arrogant it was, did I realize I had even done it.

Even the some of the greats have missteps sometimes. The likes of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Roger Federer have, at one time or another, all come across as cocky when their desire and belief in being the best comes out in an interview. It's a constant battle to be internally extrinsic and externally intrinsic.

So I'll let Larry sum it up:

Keep the persona and attributes of an intrinsic person, because invariably they are nicer people, but when training and preparing for an event flip your mindset to extrinsic.  When you throw your leg over that bike you must become extrinsically motivated.  Learn the difference and learn to switch.  You cannot begin to imagine how much difference it will make to your training, preparation and success.  Extrinsics don't "go for a ride" they train!

So find that switch inside you. When you hit the water or the road, find that something that drives you and use it. If it's that race you want to win or that opponent (or even teammate) that you want to be faster than, so be it. If it's that person who doesn't think you can do it, great. Grab on to it, and let it stoke your fire.

And then put it away when you're done. Go back to being a "nice Canadian" (or other nationality) and be driven intrinsically. And whatever you do, don't tell someone you're going to be better than them. Just don't.