Why Intrinsic Motivation is Important?

I think on an intuitive level, all can agree on the importance of an activity being intrinsically motivating. But why, why is it important? To begin, we all know, that it is almost effortless to engage in an activity that we truly enjoy. We seek out those activities, healthy activities, that we are good at, that make us feel good, .When we actively participate in a purposeful activity that we are inwardly driven to do, we are in control,, we are clear and able to translate information.. We are then able to adapt, or meet the new needs of a particular project. When we are successful at what we set out to do, confidence is up and we want to do more, show others what we can do and are thus very focused and attentive to the work. When we can figure it out, organize and successfully implement our plan, we often feel like we are at the top of our game. We want to do more, build upon what we have just done and further the work. We feel value, significance and achieve understanding, thereby lending us the ability to build on what we have already learned. We are ready and motivated to learn the next new skill, because we have successfully learned and performed the previous one. What makes this learning easy is that it feels effortless, like play. We are challenged at just the right level. When what we are learning is matched with our skill, we enter the “flow” . This “flow” helps us to intently attend and effortlessly manage and regulate. We feel mastery from an internal state. Are you beginning to see the very positive, effortless cycle?
In Music Therapy, when one is able to match interest (responsiveness of an individual) with a non-tangible structure,( such as rhythm,) we can facilitate in the organization of abilities. therefore facilitating in development or growth that lends itself to success. When interest and emotion are tied together, the motivation for self direction is much less challenging and much more enjoyable.
Antoinette Morrison MT-BC