What do we mean by intrinsic motivation? Intrinsic motivation refers to the motivation that we get from within. Intrinsic motivation is not affected by external factors such as money, fame, etc. It is the motivation we get when we love doing something. Most people call this passion or purpose. You may have noticed that most people who have a passion or purpose are often very motivated in life. This is because they love doing what they do so much that they do not need any external motivation or inspiration to push them further. This is what we call intrinsic motivation and here are the stories of a few people who followed their passion which will give you intrinsic motivation.

Abhishek Mishra

Abhishek Mishra always had a passion for endurance sports. In school life, he was involved in a lot of sports and endurance sports, however, he never thought of following his passion full time. A few years later, he got a degree in Marketing and International Business along with a degree in engineering. He started his life by getting a corporate job. He did not have any specific problems with his job instead he used to love his job, however, deep down inside he felt a void and dissatisfaction in his heart. Finally, in 2014, he quit his job following his first run in “Ultra Run” to follow his passion for triathlons full time. He faced a lot of pressure from his friends and family regarding his decision to quit his job but Abhishek was determined that he is not going to lead a life of other’s expectations of him. Very soon, he proved everyone wrong when in early 2017, he became the first Indian man to complete a run of 161 km in the Kutch Desert, in the “Run The Rann” event. He also started his company related to sports and endurance to spread awareness about the cause. His intrinsic motivation to run helped him to quit his job and follow his passion despite having a stable job.

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Aneehsha Katwani

Aneehsha Katwani was always very passionate about music, she always believed that music is an integral part of her life. She used to work for a media agency in London before returning home to India and working for the same company’s office in India. Having experienced the nightlife of London, Aneesha Katwani felt that something is missing from the nightlife of India. She only engaged in music-related work when she worked for Red Bull for a few months along with some other clients she has worked for in London. After that, she decided to start her own company with Bhishma Sagar. She co-founded a company with Bhishma Sagar called Regenerate Music OPC PVT LTD. In the entire journey, she kept patience and continued to work towards her goals. This is another great story of intrinsic motivation.

Gautham D Kamath

Gautham had a very uncommon life journey as he started working from the age of 17. His first job was in a graphite factory when he was unable to study a course of his choice. After some time he quit his job due to some health issues, however, after a short break, he was back to his job. For the next seven years, he continued to work for different companies. As time passed, he developed a strong love for skateboarding, He would go to the park on weekends to skateboard all day long. In the year of 2012, Mountain Dew organised a skateboarding event where they invited some of the pro-skateboarders, Gautham got a chance to interview the pro skateboarders. He invited some of them back to his regular skate park where he skateboards. One of them, Sandro Diaz accepted his invitation and went with him to the park.

There, watching Diaz skateboard, Gautham was very inspired, so much so that he quit his job on the very same day and decided to follow his passion for skateboarding for the rest of his life. In the beginning, his friends and family did not support him but he did not care. He stopped going to his family gathering just to avoid questions regarding his decision to quit his job and doing skateboard. However, according to Gautham, none of it matters as every day he gets to do what he loves the most, skateboarding.

These were some of the stories that will give you intrinsic motivation to follow your dreams and passion. All of the individuals in this article got the motivation they needed from within themselves because they loved doing what they did. Hence, following your dreams and passion is the best way to stay motivated when things get difficult because if you don’t like your job then you will give up when things get ugly, however, if you love what you do then you will not give up no matter how bad things get.

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