In our last issue on personal sustainability, we explained that itâs about aligning and balancing your long-term aspirations with your short-term needs. Instead of firing on all cylinders, personal sustainability involves pacing yourself. Slowing down and catching your breath regularly to prioritize health, and do better in the long run.
For a big group of Americans, slowing down doesnât seem like a good option. We worry itâll sabotage our long-term success. After all, weâre up against college acceptance rates in the single digits, limited interviews offered for âtopâ positions, and people pulling ahead of us. We feel the need to be on our âA gameâ to stand a chance in the competition.
For a second big group of Americans, desire and enthusiasm for running the race is waning by the day. The pandemic has made it hard to want to do anything at all. An article in the New York Times captures this well:
â. . . as the weeks morphed into months with no clear end in sight for much of the country, the ennui of Covid-induced isolation can undermine enthusiasm for such mundane activities, however rewarding they may have seemed at first. Iâm among a growing number of people Iâve spoken with who admit to a lack of motivation for tasks they know need doing but now are unable to face.â
If youâre in the first group or the second group, youâre in good company. Events and pressures in the world around us have contributed to this âenergy crisis.â Whether the crisis is a fear of slowing down or inertia, you need a personal sustainability strategy. Two strategies for environmental sustainability can work for our own lives, too.Â
Conservation is protecting what we have and not wasting our precious energy. This means being highly selective about how we use our energy. Elevating the value of our âyesâ so that we engage with things (and people) who are life-giving and aligned with our values, rather than saying too many yeses. Â
Efficiency, on the other hand, doesnât entail using less energy, but using better energy. Working smarter by tapping into the best energy you have available to you.Â
What is this best energy? Drawing from lessons in our environment again, consider non-renewable and renewable energy. Non-renewables canât be renewedâwe use them only once. Think oil, coal or natural gas. Renewables are self-sustaining and replenishing. Think solar, wind, and hydro.
Humans, too, have non-renewable and renewable energy.
Think of extrinsic motivation as non-renewable. It comes from outside of us in the form of rewards and punishments, carrots and sticks. We use it to get people to do what they donât want to do. For example, parents might bribe their fussy eaters with dessert for finishing their veggies. They might promise their apathetic high schooler a new pet for getting on the honor roll.
These external motivators (for getting us to do the things we donât want to do) are akin to non-renewables. They might be cheap and easy to use in the short-run, but theyâre not sustainable. You keep needing more and more of it. The kid who does a good deed for a sticker, now wants a lollipop. That lollipop becomes an allowance, the allowance a phone, the phone a computer. Similarly, we strive for the job title, then the bonus, then the corner office.Â
The more energy that is required from us, the more external motivators we need. Much like non-renewable energy, external motivators lose their appeal. More and more is required.Â
Intrinsic motivation is renewable energy. Internally motivated goals are ones that we keep wanting to pursue. They donât get old. These goals feel like a part of us. Theyâre deeply connected to who we authentically are. No one needs to coax us into pursuing these goals. No external incentives are needed. The motivation comes from inside of us. This energy is generative and self-sustaining. The more we tap into intrinsic motivation, the more of it we have.Â
If we want our students to succeed and practice personal sustainability, we have to be mindful of the energy they are spending. Whatâs driving them to work hard? Is it carrots or sticks? Rewards or punishments? (Not sure? Try asking them: why do you work so hard at this?)
Alternatively, are they self-driven? Does the drive to succeed come from within them? Would they still pursue this goal, regardless of what others think?Â
If yes, theyâve tapped into their best energy! Working hard at it doesnât drain them, but keeps filling them up as they go.
Next week will be a deeper dive into how to tap into intrinsic motivation.
đ§Get Your Bearings
Are you operating a coal plant or a solar farm? To do a gut check:
List the top 3-5 things (& relationships) youâre choosing to pour yourself into.
Consider each, one at a timeââwhy am I working so hard at this? Am I driven by carrots or sticks? Or would I keep at it regardless of what others think (or tangible rewards)?â
Encourage your students to do the same.
đ´The Scenic Route
Because sometimes we need to slow down and enjoy the ride.