Stuart Evans

So many high-achieving people get trapped into obsessing about the external world and neglecting their internal world. When you’ve been suppressing things for so long, you can’t just decide to stop all at once. Learning to listen to yourself takes a long time. I used to think that I always had to justify everything to myself—that I needed to be

What I’ve also found is that mindful eating is a bellwether for whether or not I’m present. If I can’t focus on my meal, it’s usually a sign that I’m not grateful for things around me at all. If I’m rushing, flipping on my phone, reading the news or multitasking while eating, it’s almost always a sign that I’m distracted and need to take a break.

So rather than view it as a choice between intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, embrace both. Cultivate intrinsic motivation to create a constant source of fuel that doesn’t wane. Embrace goals or desires as they emerge to increase motivation and accelerate action. Just continue to look within for guidance on what you actually want.