Walter G. Prevalnig wrote:
> Morty Lefkoe said " I'd like to propose a heretical notion: that there is
> no such thing as external motivation!!"
>
> I agree. All that we ever get from the outside world is information. How I
> act upon it is my choice.
>
> I suggest that a change of language would help to change the thinking. If
> we were to talk about "intrinsic" as motivation and "extrinsic" as
> incentives or incitement , things fall into place nicely.
Interesting thoughts. I guess, I've almost always considered external
attempts to motivate me as "manipulation, control, intimidation, coercion,
management." Information is meaningless until I attach values and mental
models to it. Information only motivates me internally--for instance, if
I see someone running down the street with a weapon (gun), I now have
information. Depending on my training, situation, mental models, etc., I
will respond a certain way. A law enforcement officer might respond
different than a person who is guiding a child by the hand. The
observation was the same, the reaction internally motivated.
I'll agree with Morty on his statement--and I don't think it's heretical.
I believe it's very existential. The reason I like learning organization
principles is that they don't rely on external motivators. It appeals only
to the inner person--and possibly to the inner person's desire to run a
profitable (in spirit, humanity and material wealth) business.
--Richard C. "Doc" Holloway, Thresholds--Human Development and Networking P.O. Box 2361, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 786-0925 Fax: (360) 709-4361 mailto:olypolys@nwrain.com
"The familiar life horizon has been outgrown, the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit, the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand."
-Joseph Campbell
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>