The surprising truth about what motivates us

This RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink‘s talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home, in the workplace, and in school.

  • Autonomy – if you want engagement, self-direction is best (personalised learning)
  • Mastery – our urge to get better at things (time to explore what we’re curious about, learn and create)
  • Purpose – creating an inspiring place to be (as opposed to being driven by profits, or test results, making learning relevant)

Most of us believe that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is with external rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake, Daniel H. Pink says in his new book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. The secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

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