Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 3, Session 4: Setting Priorities, Managing Time | Page 60 of 68Ask whether people would be doing 1 or 2 for outside reasons or inside/personal reasons. (Both are
connected most closely to inside reasons of choice and autonomy. 1 is not very motivating because
most of the opportunity for choice – making decisions, planning, being creative – are controlled by
someone else. 2 would usually be more motivating because many choices and decisions are controlled
by the individual, not the person who “contracted” for the party.)- Follow up by asking discussion questions as appropriate from the following list. Say:
“Let’s talk about why you might do some of the things I asked in these situations.”
Which were things you would do because of a reason outside yourself? (For possible answers
and explanations, refer to the notes after each example, A-E)
Which might be for your own personal reasons? (For possible answers and explanations, refer
to the notes after each example, A-E)
Why is it important to do some things for personal reasons? (Possible answers: I want to reach
my goals. I want to have fun. It feels good. I enjoy it. I get what I want.)
Why would you do something because someone else wanted it? (Possible answers: I would get
paid. I want to avoid punishment. I want to avoid something painful, unpleasant, or dangerous.
Because my father told me to.)What are some things you can do to be more motivated and do more of the things that are
important to you? (Possible answers: I can choose whether or not to do something for
inside/personal reasons. I can understand what the “reward” will be and decide whether to do
the activity. I can choose when to put Rocks, Sand, or Water into my cup.)- Refer participants to Handout 2: A Full Cup for Tomorrow and say:
“Please look again at the list of things you will be doing tomorrow. Which of the things on your list will
you be doing for outside reasons? Write the word ‘Outside’ next to those items.”Pause while participants do this. Then say:“Which of the things on your list for tomorrow will you be doing for inside reasons? Take a moment to
write the word ‘Inside’ next to those items.”- When people have finished, ask a few volunteers to share an example of the activities they marked as
outside or inside reasons. Help everyone feel safe and comfortable by stressing that the motivation for
some activities may be difficult to classify as being strictly inside or outside. However, the goal is to help
participants become more aware of these motivating influences in their daily lives.
B. Summary
Conclude the activity by saying:
“We do different activities for different reasons. Even the activities we have no choice about doing still
have a reason for us, even if it is to avoid punishment. It’s also fine to do something for the reward it
brings. Unfortunately, many of the things we do for personal reasons don’t have a reward right away.
For these, the ‘payment’ doesn’t come until years later. So, we need to be clear about what that reward