When the Fire Goes Out: What to Do When Intrinsic Motivation Deserts You

Im guessing if you’re reading this, your usually a pretty motivated person.

Someone whose self driven, motivated, sees what needs to be done and gets in and does it.

What happens if you find yourself in a place where that intrinsic motivation isn’t there?

Have you ever had that feeling?
Suddenly, youre not hitting your targets quite as easily, or things that just happened start to require more effort, or you are struggling to care about things that used to energise you.

Your drive has dipped. The inner spark has gone.
And no matter how much you know you have to get done and how much you should feel motivated… you just don’t.

This is the moment when intrinsic motivation deserts us, and it happens more than most leaders admit, for a whole range of reasons.

Intrinsic motivation is our drive that comes from within.

It’s what fuels you to take action, not because someone told you to, or because there’s a looming deadline, but because the work matters, because you care, because it aligns with your values or sense of purpose.

How to Know When It’s Gone Quiet

Its not like you wake up one day and your intrinsic motivation has disappeared all at once, it fades.  Sometimes we just don’t recognise the gradual decline, until we become ware of how much we are really struggling.
Here’s how to recognise when it’s depleting:

• You’re getting the job done… but with no energy behind it, its feeling like hard work, you are pushing uphill,
• You’ve stopped looking for better ways to do things or change feels hard,
• Small wins don’t feel like wins anymore,
• You procrastinate more than usual, it takes some real internal talk to get moving,
• You feel disconnected from purpose or impact,
• You’re relying more on pressure, deadlines, or external push to take action.

The thing is, this can be happening whilst you might still be performing well from the outside.

Which makes it easy to ignore the warning signs, until fatigue or frustration catch up.

What It Might Be Telling You

A drop in intrinsic motivation isn’t just a personal issue.
It can be a data point ,  a signal from your system that something’s off.

It might reflect:

Misalignment: Your current work doesn’t connect with what you value or care about, you are not getting the opportunity to play to your strengths,

Mental overload: Your brain’s been in decision fatigue or firefighting mode for too long

Lack of autonomy: You’re being pulled in too many directions, with little say over your time or priorities, or the goal posts keep shifting,

Disconnection from purpose: The ‘why’ behind your work has faded or shifted, your idea of success has shifted,

Burnout: You’re not just tired, you’re depleted, the tank has been running on empty for too long.

For most of us, our initial response is to push on.  The goal isn’t to power through, it’s to pause and listen.

Motivation and Our Brain’s Reward System

Intrinsic motivation is closely linked to your brain’s dopaminergic reward system.
When you engage in activities that feel meaningful, satisfying or purpose-aligned, our brain releases dopamine, which reinforces those behaviours and keeps us engaged.

But when tasks start to feel irrelevant, repetitive or disconnected from purpose, that same system starts to shut down. You don’t get the chemical “reward,” so the motivation loop ceases to exist.

Over time, this leads to emotional flatness, disengagement and even learned helplessness,  where our brain stops expecting positive outcomes from effort.  That leaves us questioning the effort before we even begin.

This is why finding ways to reconnect with intrinsic motivation isn’t fluff, it’s a performance strategy.

5 Strategies to Reignite Your Mojo

Reconnect to meaning
Ask yourself: Why did this matter to me in the first place?
What’s changed, the work, or your relationship to it?

Redesign the challenge
Sometimes motivation drops when things feel too hard, or too easy.
Shift your frame: Can you turn it into a stretch, a game, or a learning opportunity?

Look for small wins
Motivation is built through momentum.
Track progress visually, acknowledge forward movement, and celebrate what’s working.

Shift from “I have to” to “I choose to”
Reframe your actions through a lens of agency.
Even in demanding work environments, autonomy is a key motivator.

Talk it out
Reflect with a coach, peer or mentor.
Often, just voicing what feels off can help you reconnect to what matters.

If reconnecting isn’t working, it might be time to look for what the next challenge will look like.

Don’t Wait for the Fire to Come Back On Its Own

If your motivation has gone quiet, just remember, you’re human.
The goal isn’t to “get back to the grind.” It’s to reconnect with why you’re doing the work in the first place.

In any role, showing up when your tank is full is easy.
Showing up when it’s empty, and being honest about it, is where our self-leadership begins.

Take the time to pause, listen, and re-align.
Because you can't lead yourself or others if you’ve disconnected from your own internal compass.