What Motivates You Doesn't Necessarily Motivate Me

WHAT: Friends Jack and Ben have begun working out together.  They focus solely on weight training in the gym five days per week.  Initially, Jack has seen better gains then Ben but also has suggested aerobic work-outs to his friend.  Ben refuses to do aerobic work-outs, and the friends stick solely to the weight training.  Jack becomes unhappy and stops seeing gains in his work-outs and is now seeking help from his personal trainer Rudy to help motivate and change his exercise behaviors.  Jack’s biggest challenge is to find new ways to be motivated with his work-outs, enjoy working out, and being challenged with new work-outs to improve his ability and progress.

SO WHAT: Reviewing Jack’s situation, it is apparent that Jack has lost motivation in weight training and no longer pushes himself.  He has lost any enjoyment with weight training and wants to explore new exercise methods.  Jack shows interest in group aerobic work-outs; however his exercise partner Ben refuses to explore new exercise methods with Jack.  Gill and Williams (2008) discussion on intrinsic motivation from the cognitive evaluation theory seems to fit well with Jack’s situation.  The theory states that “people feel competent when engaging in an interesting, challenging task on their own volition” (p. 132).  Jack is at a point where he has lost interest in his work-outs, feels he reached his potential (no challenges), and does work-outs at the demands of his friend Ben.  Overall, Jack has lost his ability to be intrinsically motivated with work-outs and must make appropriate changes to become intrinsically motivated again.  Along with motivation, Jack deals with a lack of autonomy and competence in his ability to exercise.  The theory of self-determination (related to CET) explains that one’s perceived autonomy and competence, and relatedness reflects more of an intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation (Gill and Williams, 2008).  Jack already has extrinsic factors such as his work-out partner Ben and partially his progress in the weight room as well (reward example).   Autonomy seems to be another issue because Ben has challenged Jack’s autonomy to choose what method of exercise to participate in by denying his suggestion to join in a group aerobics class.  Jack’s perceptions of autonomy and competence to exercise and feel challenged are important changes he must adjust to in order to regain his intrinsic motivation.

NOW WHAT: Jack must not allow his exercise behaviors to be controlled by Ben any longer.  Going along with SDT, Jack must find ways in which he is able to make autonomous choices for his exercise and that will help him once again find intrinsic motivation.  According to Edmunds, Ntoumanis, and Duda (2005) the most autonomous form of motivation in the SDT theory is intrinsic motivation, which is the underlying issue faced by Jack.  He no longer finds enjoyment or motivation in weight training.  He has suggested another form of exercise (group aerobics) that would seem to provide him new challenges and suggests a new intrinsic motivator for him.  His friend’s Ben tendency to control Jack’s choices in exercise limits Jack’s ability to stay motivated, challenged, and happy.  Jack may be faced with introjection, which is similar to extrinsic motivation, however is used “to avoid negative emotions, such as anxiety or guilt, to support conditional self-worth, or to attain ego enhancement” (Edmunds, Ntoumanis, and Duda, 2005, p. 2242).  If Jack were to stop exercising with Ben, he may feel some form of guilt.  As the personal trainer, Rudy needs to explore aerobic activities with Jack and see if a change in exercise regimen enhances enjoyment or challenge toward Jack.  The initial training session is a great opportunity for Rudy as the trainer to ask Jack what motivates him and also what his goals are in regards to his fitness and health.  Once Jack is able to make autonomous choices with his personal trainer, he will be able to re-develop his intrinsic motivation and competence with exercise.  Finally, Gill and Williams (2008) discuss how people make attributions about others and why they behave and interact in certain situations.  Jack may have attributions about Ben regarding his refusal to participate in other forms of physical activity.  It will be important to discuss motivation with Jack and explain that everyone has different forms of motivation.  As discussed previously, Jack may feel guilt and hence chooses to adhere to Ben’s exercise wishes.  It would be beneficial to have the two friends communicate together about their personal goals, motivations, and challenges they have for themselves regarding fitness.  Once engaged with a personal trainer and beginning aerobic fitness, Jack may very well still exercise at the gym with his friend Ben, but perhaps only 2 days of the week and not 5 days.  Including work-outs with Ben can help Jack to avoid introjected regulation and focus solely on intrinsic motivations for his work-outs. 

CONCLUSION: Jack is struggling with motivation, enjoyment, and being challenged with his physical activity.  It is apparent that his friend Ben’s refusal to engage in alternative physical activity has caused Jack to lose motivation and also progress with his work-outs.  The CET and SDT state that intrinsic motivation is the most self-determined and autonomous form of motivation one can have.  The personal trainer should begin the initial session by asking Jack what specifically motivates him as well as individual goals he may have for his fitness.  Allowing Jack to decide what types of work-outs to engage in during sessions will also help him feel more autonomous and self-determined.  Suggesting Jack to talk with his friend Ben about their differences in motivation and exercise choices will help Jack struggle with introjected regulation, where he feels guilt and therefore does what Ben wants to do.  Discussing these differences will allow Jack freedom of choice, but also perhaps to continue working out with Ben a few days each week and then engaging in exercises that motivate him personally on the other days.

REFERENCES: 

Edmunds, J., Ntoumanis, N., & Duda, J.L. (2005). A test of self-determination theory in the exercise domain. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 2240-2265.

Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise (3rd Ed.).Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.