How to get motivated even when you don’t feel like it · TED-Ed
解析内在与外在动机的心理学原理，帮助你在缺乏动力时找到持续行动的方法，适合练习职场与成长类话题。
You've always aspired to be a professional artist.
你一直渴望成为一名专业的艺术家。
At last, this dream may become a reality, and you're creating a portfolio to submit to art programs.
终于，这个梦想可能会成为现实了！你正在制作一个作品集，准备提交给各类艺术项目。
But as the application deadline looms, you suddenly find yourself unmotivated, and avoiding the canvas altogether.
然而，随着申请截止日期的临近，你突然发现自己失去了动力，甚至完全不再愿意去画画（即不再使用画布进行创作）。
Why does motivation seem so fickle?
为什么动机似乎如此反复无常（即容易发生变化）呢？
And what even is it in the first place?
首先，这到底是什么呢？
Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior.
心理学家将动机定义为促使个体开始并持续某种特定行为的欲望或驱动力。
In other words, it's the energy that drives you to do something.
换句话说，正是这种能量驱使你去完成某件事。
And knowing the source of that drive is particularly important when it comes to understanding how to maintain it.
了解这种积极动力的来源，对于掌握如何持续维持这种动力尤为重要。
These motivational forces generally fall into two broad categories: intrinsic and extrinsic.
这些激励因素通常可以归为两大类：内在激励因素和外在激励因素。
Intrinsic motivation is involved when you experience an activity as an end in itself.
当你将某项活动视为一种纯粹的目的（即活动本身就有其价值）时，内在动机就会发挥作用。
Take a hobby, like playing video games.
培养一个爱好，比如玩电子游戏。
The experience largely explains the desire to do it.
这段经历在很大程度上解释了人们想要去做这件事的动机。
Performing tasks that feel right in the moment— or that you find a meaningful, interesting, or satisfying— are driven by intrinsic motivation.
去做那些在当下感觉“合适”的事情，或者那些你觉得有意义、有趣、能带来满足感的事情，其背后的驱动力是内在动机（即个人自身对某件事的兴趣和渴望）。
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, refers to pursuing a task as a means to an end.
另一方面，外在动机是指将完成某项任务视为实现某种目标的手段。
While few would consider going to the dentist as an enjoyable activity, you're often motivated by the outcome of having clean,
虽然很少有人会把去看牙医视为一件令人愉快的事情，但人们通常会因为能够拥有干净、健康的牙齿而感到欣慰（或：人们去看牙医的动机往往是为了获得干净健康的牙齿）。
healthy teeth.
健康的牙齿。
Other examples of extrinsic motivation include completing a task to receive some sort of reward, whether it's praise,
外在动机的其他例子还包括：为了获得某种奖励（无论是表扬还是物质奖励）而完成任务。
power, or money.
权力，或者金钱。
Notably, these rewards tend to come later, like receiving a bonus at the end of a quarter, or winning a competition after months of training.
值得注意的是，这些奖励通常会在较晚的时候才会发放——比如在季度末获得奖金，或者在经过数月的训练后赢得比赛。
While extrinsic rewards, like getting paid, may seem appealing, their effectiveness can be surprisingly short-lived.
虽然外在奖励（比如获得报酬）看起来很有吸引力，但它们的效果往往非常短暂。
For example, a 2017 study found that those who were highly focused on the outcomes of their New Year's resolutions— or driven by extrinsic motivation—
例如，2017年的一项研究发现，那些过于关注自己新年决心所带来结果的人（或者说是受外部动机驱使的人）……
weren't the most likely to stick to them.
这些人最不可能真正遵守这些规定（或原则）。
What did predict persistence, however, was how much a person enjoyed pursuing their goals.
然而，真正能够预测一个人能否坚持到底的因素，是这个人在追求目标的过程中所获得的乐趣（即他们对此事的喜爱程度）。
In other words, you're more likely to maintain an exercise routine if you take classes you enjoy, rather than just those that build your biceps.
换句话说，如果你参加自己喜欢的运动课程，而不是仅仅那些能够锻炼二头肌的课程，那么你更有可能坚持进行锻炼。
Years of psychology research have shown that high levels of intrinsic motivation—
多年的心理学研究表明，高度的内在动机……
for school, a job, or an exercise class— are more likely to keep you engaged in the long run.
无论是为了上学、工作还是参加锻炼课程，这些活动都更有可能让你在长期内保持参与的热情和积极性。
Day-to-day actions, though, are rarely either exclusively intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.
然而，日常行为很少是纯粹由内在动机或外在动机所驱动的。
Studying for a history exam, for example, can be intrinsically motivated If you're curious about the culture of ancient Egypt.
例如，如果你对古埃及的文化感到好奇，那么为了准备历史考试而学习就会成为一种内在的驱动力（即你出于自身的兴趣和好奇心去学习）。
But extrinsic motivators may also be at play,
不过，外在动机也可能在起作用。
as you aim to get a good grade or feel pressure from family members to do well in school.
当你渴望取得好成绩，或者受到家人要求你在学业上取得优异成绩的压力时……
But having multiple motivators isn't always better.
不过，拥有多个动机并不总是更好的选择。
One study of military cadets found that those who were driven both by intrinsic motivators, like self-improvement, and extrinsic motivators,
一项针对军校学员的研究发现，那些同时受到内在动机（如自我提升的愿望）和外在动机（如外部奖励或期望）驱动的学员，在学习或表现上往往更为出色。
like the outcome of getting a good job, were overall less motivated than cadets driven by just one of these factors.
比如获得一份好工作的结果来说，那些仅受到这些因素中某一个因素驱动的学员，其整体积极性要低于那些受到多个因素共同驱动的学员。
As a result, these cadets performed worse and were less likely to graduate.
因此，这些军校学员的表现更差，毕业的可能性也更低。
Psychologists call this phenomenon the overjustification effect—
心理学家将这种现象称为“过度合理化效应”（overjustification effect）。
the idea that additional extrinsic motivators can actually muddy the waters when you already have the intrinsic drive to do something.
有一种观点认为：当一个人已经具备了内在的动力去完成某件事时，额外的外在激励因素反而可能会让情况变得更加复杂（或：反而会干扰个人的内在动机）。
But this is only a problem if you already find a task motivating.
但只有当你已经觉得某项任务具有吸引力（即能够激发你的积极性）时，这才成为一个问题。
When you're faced with an activity you find tedious or uninteresting, adding extrinsic rewards can be beneficial.
当你面对一项你觉得枯燥或无趣的活动时，引入外部奖励（即通过奖励来激励自己完成这项活动）可能会带来积极的效果。
In this way, extrinsic motivators can provide sufficient justification.
通过这种方式，外在动机可以提供足够的合理性（或正当性）来支持某种行为或决策。
While you may never enjoy doing the laundry, it may feel less daunting if you get praise from a loved one,
虽然你可能永远都不喜欢洗衣服，但如果能得到亲人的表扬，这项任务可能会显得没那么令人畏惧了。