I dare say many of the readership have mulled over the related concepts of motivation/satisfaction/happiness. A percentage of the worlds deforestation has been for the purpose of printing self help books specifically on these concepts.

Those of you who have let your pop-psychology readings slip in the area of motivating sports people and business executives may be unaware of the fact that internal (or intrinsic) motivation has been touted as being far superior to external (extrinsic) sources of motivation such as money or material success.

Certainly money and material success have flowed to the authors of the books which may lead you to wonder whether they are truely happy, having derrived their happiness from such an external source. The answer is "To right they are". In spite of the mantra that "Money can't but happiness", I think it is fair to say that it is a lot easier to be happy when you have a full stomach and a warm, safe abode.

Professor Steven Reiss of Ohio State University goes even further, questioning the very existence of intrinsic motivation. He says

There is no reason that money can't be an effective motivator, or that grades can't motivate students in school. It's all a matter of individual differences. Different people are motivated in different ways.

Taking the example of children playing sport as compared to professional sports men and women he cites the assertions of others that the children find the sport inherently more satisfying because they are playing for the pleasure of playing rather than for external reward. Prof Steve argues that both may find it equally satisfying or dissatisfying because both are merely satisfying a need. The child the need for exercise and the professional the need for money to support his/her family.

So why are extrinisic rewards supposedly less motivating? Well quite possibly different the different value systems held by different people mean that for some these rewards have less value. For those who do not have much interest in possessing wealth above that which is needed for a simple life, then extrinsic rewards that are based on a desire for wealth will be quite unmotivating. If, on the other hand you are a person who judges your self worth by the amount of wealth you possess then these forms of motivations can be highly effective.

Life is so much more complicated than the view described cited in those personal improvement/self help books. There is no panacea, read the books with a degree of scepticism then put them aside and choose your own path. All the truely happy people have and they are not necessarily the rich ones.

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