When we study how we get motivated to learn, develop, and succeed, we can identify two contrary forces: extrinsic and intrinsic ones.

在研究我們究竟是如何獲得學習、發展和成功的動力後，我們可以找到兩股相反的力量：那就是外在和內在的推力。

On the one hand, we want to belong, desire to be loved, and seek to get the attention we think we deserve.

一方面，我們想要有歸屬感、渴望被愛、尋求得到我們認為應得的關注。

We are motivated extrinsically by rewards in order to progress socially.

我們會因為受到獎勵感受到外在的動力，讓我們能更加社會化。

On the other hand, we strive to explore things that are satisfying in themselves, disregarding rewards.

另一方面，我們則努力探索自己在做的時候本來就會感到滿足的事情，不求外在的回報。

We are motivated intrinsically by a natural curiosity which we follow because it feels right.

我們被內在的天然好奇心所驅動，因為打從內心感到正確而追隨這種動力。

The opinions of others don't matter.

別人的意見並不重要。

To understand why we probably need a good mix of both, let's imagine two four-year-old children.

而要理解為什麼我們可能得在兩者間取得良好的平衡，讓我們先來想像一下兩名四歲的孩子吧。

Both grow up in families that want only the best for their kids, but have completely opposing views on how to motivate them to succeed.

這兩位孩子所來自的家庭都希望能為他們提供最棒的環境，但兩家人對於如何促進他們孩子的成功有著完全相反的看法。

Tom's parents believe that all their boy needs is love.

Tom 的父母認為他們的孩子只需要滿滿的愛就行了。

To not undermine his intrinsic interests, they never praise him or use rewards.

為了不破壞他的內在興趣，他們從不誇獎他，或是給他獎賞。

Eventually, they decide not to give him any feedback at all, fearing it could corrupt his free mind.

最後，他們決定完全不對他的作為給予任何的回饋，因為他們怕這樣會破壞 Tom 的自由意志。

Over the years, Tom develops an immense capacity to imagine, spending most of his time playing by himself.

多年下來，Tom 發展出了極強的想像力，而大多時間他都自己一個人玩耍。

By being allowed to follow his passions, he learns what he likes and what he doesn't.

由於他能自由追尋自己的熱情，他了解到自己喜歡什麼，不喜歡什麼。

But Tom doesn't learn what others expect, and gets easily irritated when asked to do something in a particular way.

但 Tom 並沒有學會如何應對別人對他的期待，並且很容易在被要求以特定的方式做事時激怒。

Mira's parents believe that their precious little girl needs clear rules about what's good and what's not.

Mira 的父母則認為，他們的寶貝女兒需要明確的規則來界定什麼是好的，什麼是壞的。

They see it as their duty to help Mira learn by providing precise and actionable feedback on all aspects of her young life.

他們把幫助 Mira 學習視為自己的責任，並對她年幼人生的各個方面都設定了嚴格且即時的反饋。

Mira spends her days in preschool, music, and ballet lessons.

Mira 每天都在上學前班、音樂課和芭蕾舞課。

Over the years, she gets exceptionally good at the things that please the adults around her.

多年下來，她變得能極完美地完成所有能討好她周遭大人的事情。

However, since there is neither time to play nor to relax, she doesn't discover her own interests.

然而，因為既沒有時間玩樂，也沒有時間放鬆，她並沒有發掘出自己的興趣。

Being alone bores her.

獨自一人讓她感到無趣。

At 14, Tom is independent and begins writing science fiction.

14 歲時，Tom 的個性自主獨立，並開始寫起了科幻小說。

He realizes that he isn't quite like his friends, and spends most of his time at the library.

他意識到自己和朋友們不太一樣，並花上大部分的時間窩在圖書館裡。

When he shares his writing, others can't quite relate.

當他把自己的作品分享給別人看時，別人不太能有所共鳴。

At the same age, Mira is at the top of her class and has plenty of friends and admirers.

與 Tom 同一個年紀時，Mira 是班上的領導者，有著很多朋友和崇拜她的人。

She knows what is expected of her, and makes sure to meet those expectations.

她知道人們對她的期望是什麼，並總是確保自己滿足這些期望。

Sometimes the pressure becomes unbearable, although that's her secret.

有時她會覺得壓力變得難以承受，但這是她私下的祕密。

By the day he turns 21, Tom has a unique perspective of the world.

到了 21 歲那天，Tom 對這個世界發展出了獨特的看法。

He is intelligent but doesn't like to work for money, and hence is always broke.

雖然他很聰明，但他不喜歡為錢工作，所以總是一窮二白。

He hates the idea of conforming to conventional norms and is annoyed if someone interferes with his creative expression.

他討厭符合傳統規範的想法，而如果有人干涉他表達自己的創意，他便會大為光火。

At this point, Tom knows a lot about himself, but doesn't connect well with others.

此時的 Tom 非常了解自己，卻無法很好地與他人溝通。

To him, people seem to follow rules without questioning them, just like sheep.

在他看來，人們似乎都在毫不猶豫地循規蹈矩，就像羊群一樣。

Integrating into the society is difficult at this point, and he begins to search for Utopia.

事已至此，想要融入社會已難如登天，於是他便開始尋求烏托邦的存在。

Mira makes it into a top medical school, where she realizes she'll never be top of the class again.

Mira 進入了一所頂尖的醫學院，而她在這裡意識到，自己永遠不會再成為班上的頂尖份子了。

Once that place seems out of reach, her motivation drops, and she wonders if medicine actually interests her.

而在發現班上的頂尖地位遙不可及後，她的動力直線下降，開始懷疑自己是不是真的對醫科抱有熱忱。

Since quitting is no option, she takes up a second major and runs for student council president.

由於退學是不可能的，她於是開始了雙主修，並試著競選學生會主席。

Soon, Mira will know everything about what others expect, but nothing about what she likes for herself.

過了不久，Mira 就能知道別人對她所期望的一切，但對自己喜歡的東西卻一無所知。

All her life, she has just listened, driven by external feedback loops.

她的一生只是在聽從別人的意見，在外部反饋循環的驅動下過活。

At this point, she's almost lost the ability to question the norms of the society she grew up in.

此時的她幾乎已經完全失去了質疑自己聽著長大的社會規範的能力。

Listening to our heart can tell us who we are, but not how to be happy among others.

我們的心可以告訴我們自己想要成為怎麼樣的人，但不能告訴我們如何快樂地與他人一同生活。

Listening to others can motivate us to be a part of their world, but doesn't teach us if that world is ours.

傾聽別人的聲音可以激勵我們自己成為他們世界的一部分，但並不能教會我們這樣的世界究竟屬不屬於自己。

This is why it's probably good for the two to go together.

這就是為什麼我們需要兩者兼具。

Then we can learn what we want, and get the feedback we need in order to stay motivated to explore new roads into a better society.

如此一來，我們既能了解自己想要的是什麼，也能聆聽別人的意見，讓我們能有動力一同攜手打造出更美好的社會。

A large body of research shows that balancing the two forces is not straightforward.

大量研究表明，想要平衡這兩種動力並不簡單。

One meta analysis of 128 studies examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.

有一項對 128 項研究的整合分析研究了外在獎勵對內在動機的影響。

While most rewards significantly undermined our intrinsic interest, positive feedback, which is an extrinsic motivator, inspires us to keep going.

雖然大多數獎勵大大削弱了我們的內在興趣，但作為外在動力的正向反饋卻會激勵著我們繼續前進。

Put simply, honest words of encouragement get us going, while money or gifts undermine our inner drive.

簡單來說，真誠的鼓勵話語能讓我們繼續前行，而金錢或禮物則會削弱我們的內在動力。

What about you?

你的情況又是如何呢？

Do you listen to your heart, or to the voices of society? And from your personal experience, which of the two eventually takes your decision?

你是聽從自己內心的渴望，還是遵從社會的意見呢？從你的個人經歷來看，這兩者哪一個會成為你最後下決定的依據？

Share your thoughts, and check the description to dive deeper into the topic.

跟我們分享你的想法吧，然後如果你想更深入了解這個主題，請查看影片詳情中的資訊。

Sprouts videos are published under the Creative Commons license.

Sprouts 影片皆有創用 CC 授權。

That means our videos are free and anyone can download, edit, and play them for personal use.

這代表著我們的影片為免費提供，任何人都能以個人使用名義下載、編輯與播放。

And public schools, governments, and nonprofit organizations can also use them for training, online courses, or designing new curriculums.

公立學校、政府與非營利組織也能用這些影片來訓練、進行線上課程，或是設計新的課綱。

To help us stay independent and support our work, you can join our patrons and contribute.

為了幫助我們繼續獨立運作，你也能成為我們的贊助人，並做出貢獻。

Just visit patreon.com/sprouts.

請前往 patreon.com/sprouts 網站。

Even $1 can make a difference.

就算只是一美元也能有所幫助。