Can motivation be both intrinsic and extrinsic?

The short answer is a resounding yes! The motivations of people develop and become multifaceted in reasoning as they age, leading to the use of extrinsic and intrinsic types. Why is this? For one, if you observe a baby, they are intrinsically motivated to find food, namely the bottle or the breast, and are instinctual. As babies grow into children, they learn very keenly that they will please get what they want, this is both extrinsic motivations for an intrinsic need like an extra book or show before bed. Children and teens spend the larger part of their lives working to please others, extrinsically motivated to do well in school, sports, home, social relationships, etc. Why? Because they get positive attention, greater freedoms, and accolades, and if they value these things, they will continue being extrinsically motivated to do well behaviorally and academically. Finding the balance and developing intrinsic motivation comes when there are fewer obvious and external motivators or rewards.

Finding intrinsic motivation is key to maturity.

When people search within themselves to find meaning in what they are doing, this motivation becomes internalized and fully integrated into becoming part of who they are. Finding your bliss is part of this in that it is the motivator to keep going even when a reward is not in immediate sight. Think of the person who has just begun a long professional school program. It is four long years of learning, very few breaks, and more small failures than successes until learning deepens for many. These people have figured out that the road is supposed to feel hard, even unbearable at times, and it is the intrinsic motivation of placing meaning into their life’s work that furthers them. The extrinsic motivators to keep going might involve the financial investment, time spent, and desire to finish what was started. Appreciating and using both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation towards goal setting can make the difference between meeting a goal successfully or not and learning to do things out of a combination of wanting to and enjoying the benefits of those accomplishments.