Incentives vs. Emotional Drive: What Truly Motivates People to Perform Better?

Throughout life, we engage in various tasks and activities — whether it’s our job, personal goals, or social work. But have you ever paused to reflect on what truly motivates you to do them? Is it the benefits and rewards you gain? Or is it the inner sense of fulfillment and emotional satisfaction? Perhaps it’s something else entirely. Moreover, have you ever compared your performance when working for incentives or personal gain versus when driven by emotional passion or patriotism? This article delves into these questions to explore what truly drives human motivation.

Human Psychological Behaviour

To understand this better, we need to know how our brain works to drive us toward different activities. Our brain has a reward system controlled by a chemical called dopamine. This chemical is responsible for motivation, pleasure, and goal-setting. Based on our past experiences, our brain learns which activities bring rewards and makes us want to do them again. Because of this, we are naturally drawn to activities that give us the highest dopamine release, making us feel satisfied and motivated.

Based on this mechanism, humans often engage in activities they do not enjoy because of the future benefits they anticipate. Similarly, we may abandon activities that bring immediate pleasure if they do not provide enough long-term reward. This shows that people can temporarily compromise their dopamine-driven motivation depending on individual brain capacity and specific circumstances. However, such compromise cannot be sustained indefinitely. Humans will not tolerate this compromise in the long term. This is how the human brain has evolved primarily for survival.

How does this relate to human activities?

As you can understand, the human brain operates on incentives. The primary incentive we receive is the release of dopamine (though the brain’s functions are much more complex, for the sake of this article, I have focused on this concept). All the activities we engage in within this materialistic world ultimately affect our brain, and the motivation and consistency behind these activities are determined by the reward signals our brain receives. For example…

The current materialistic world operates on a system that…

Humans work in jobs because they receive financial incentives. With the money they earn, they can buy food, and consuming delicious food triggers a high level of reward in the brain.

People invest money with the expectation of high returns, which can be used to buy properties such as luxury homes and comfortable vehicles. These possessions provide a sense of achievement, which is ultimately converted into a reward in the brain.

Humans study and work hard to climb the corporate career ladder or gain political power systematically. This brings a sense of VIP status, respect, and influence, all of which are transformed into rewards in the brain.

Volunteering provides a sense of self-fulfillment and pride, which also gets converted into a reward in the brain.

Working due to patriotism gives a feeling of contributing to the homeland and gaining social acceptance, leading to a sense of importance and pride, which ultimately becomes a reward in the brain.

Living a lifestyle that differs from the average person, such as being wealthy, owning expensive material possessions, or holding high status and privilege, gives a sense of being special and important. Volunteering for social and global causes further enhances this feeling, all of which are transformed into rewards in the brain.

So what is the catch….

Based on all the points discussed above, you might now wonder — what is the real significance of this? Both incentives and emotional drive contribute to the brain’s reward system, ultimately influencing human actions and performance. However, the real challenge lies in the collective consciousness and the energy vibe that shapes the reality we live in.

Collective consciousness is the shared set of concepts, values, ideas, and moral attitudes accepted by the vast majority of a society or multiple societies. This creates an energetic influence that shapes how people perceive and interpret reality. Ultimately, everything that manifests in this world is influenced by collective consciousness and the energy vibe it generates. No matter how hard we try to think rationally and see beyond illusions, we cannot completely escape its influence as long as we exist within the very environment shaped by it.

so as examples

Society created money as a necessity for acquiring basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. To earn it, people engage in economic activities which is a complex system that has been established by society, and the more they earn, the better their access to these essentials.

Society has established the norm that owning expensive items attracts more attention, which serves as a brain reward. To acquire luxury possessions, one must earn more money and gain respect, making money a key motivator to push beyond personal limits.

Society has created a system where climbing the career or political ladder earns more respect, granting access to rare opportunities and a clearer path to success — serving as a brain reward. To reach or maintain higher positions, one must work hard.

But the catch is

The system shaped by collective consciousness and energy dynamics does not provide a consistent or heightened sense of pleasure, respect, or importance for actions driven by emotional fulfillment, patriotism, or self-purpose. While incentives and emotional drive ultimately translate into brain rewards, the impact differs significantly. Brain rewards we get through emotionally driven activities are fleeting — once experienced, they remain constant.

In contrast, material possessions, social status, and attention offer accumulating brain rewards, as they can be continuously increased over time, leading to a growing sense of gratification. The downside of material possessions is that they are temporary and degrade over time unless we constantly maintain them. When they start to decline due to our mistakes, the loss of brain reward is difficult to absorb. The greater the pleasure they provide, the greater the pain we feel when they are lost.

But be mindful

The biggest downside of incentives versus emotional triggers is that certain individuals or groups can manipulate your emotions for their own selfish gain. I will present a few examples, specifically related to the Sri Lankan context and the current timeline, as it will be easier to find relevant facts for me.

Mahinda Rajapaksa became an iconic figure in Sri Lankan politics by promoting the ideology of a Sinhala Buddhist nation. His words and charismatic personality strongly resonated with the majority of Sri Lankans, as he addressed their powerful emotional trigger point. During his rise, very few Sri Lankans questioned his policies, economic reforms, infrastructure development plans, technological advancements, or diplomatic strategies that could have provided long-term benefits to the citizens. Instead, people voted purely based on emotional triggers. Ultimately, the only ones who gained significant incentives were Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family, while the country and its citizens were led into bankruptcy — using the very votes of those emotionally driven citizens.

Hans Wijayasuriya, former CEO of Dialog Axiata, was appointed as Chief Advisor on Digital Economy to President AKD. That role, he accepted without any salary or benefits. Many Sri Lankans saw this as a patriotic act, believing he left his high-paying CEO position purely out of love for the country. However, as a seasoned CEO, his mindset is likely driven by strategy and future incentives rather than emotions. It’s possible he envisions shaping Sri Lanka’s digital economy to align with future opportunities — whether securing a role in a major tech company entering Sri Lanka, launching his own ventures, or even pursuing a political agenda. However, his aim of shaping Sri Lanka’s digital economy is promising and could ultimately benefit the people of Sri Lanka. It is important to understand, though, that his motivation does not stem from a deep love for the country, but rather from his personal agenda for greater incentives, higher status, and societal respect.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, also known as AKD, is the president of Sri Lanka. One of his main promises was to remove incentives from Parliment Ministers and give them a lower salary, showing that the NPP wants to serve the country, not benefit from power. He has started doing this, with the idea that leaders should not live a more luxurious lifestyle than the people they serve. But do you really think high performers will work for less money? If you’ve worked hard to get where you are — by learning new skills, managing a company, or climbing the career ladder — would you give up the status and rewards you’ve built? It’s easy to say you would, but when you’re in a competitive environment, your mindset changes. You’re always looking to grow, never willing to settle. So, if someone is willing to work for less salary or fewer benefits, it could suggest they lack confidence in their abilities, aren’t competitive, or might have a hidden agenda. This could lead to poor performance or even dishonesty. A better approach would be to offer higher incentives based on performance, create fair competition, and strengthen the legal system.

Dhammika Perera, Sri Lanka’s richest businessman, started DP Education, one of the largest online platforms for teaching programming to low-income students. At first, it seems like a great initiative, offering free programming lessons to help students become software engineers and earn good salaries. This idea sounds good and emotionally appealing, but the reality is more complicated. To understand why, think about basic economics: when there is an oversupply of something, its value drops. DP Education may help students learn programming, but the market is already full of people with these skills, which means their salaries will likely stay low. Dhammika Perera, being a businessman, makes decisions based on data, not emotions. He sees there is high demand for software engineers in Sri Lanka, and the price for such workers is high. To lower the future cost of hiring software engineers, he’s investing in increasing the number of available workers. However, the problem is that software engineering isn’t like other jobs. It requires rare cognitive skills that can’t be easily established only by just teaching.

As you can see, they’ve played on your emotions to cloud your judgment. This is one of the greatest negative impacts that can happen to you. Someone else may benefit greatly by using emotional triggers to manipulate you, but if you approach things with a rational mindset, you will see things differently and make better decisions.

So what are the solutions?

So here comes the billion-dollar question — what is the most consistent solution to this? Should we align our actions based on incentives, or should we allow emotional triggers to guide us?

As we discussed earlier, all our actions are ultimately controlled by our brain. Throughout our lives, our brains have been trained and shaped by the reality we experience and the energy around us. The decisions we make are influenced by the energy and environment we live in, shaping how we respond to situations and opportunities.

The key factor is consistency if you want to improve your life step by step. As I explained earlier, incentives are the most important driver for the brain’s reward system. People work mainly for incentives, not for emotional triggers. The more frequently you receive meaningful incentives, the more motivated your brain becomes to create a better life.

as examples

When you receive your monthly salary, you work consistently to earn that incentive. Over time, you naturally start working to increase that salary, and as a result, your skills and brain capacity also grow steadily.

If you are the owner or director, higher company profits mean higher incentives for you. This motivates your brain to work harder, find new ways to grow, and consistently improve your performance — leading to your personal and professional development.

Now we know that incentives are the main motivator in life. However, you might still feel like something is missing — maybe a sense of selfishness for focusing only on your own incentives. This happens because humans are social creatures, and our brains can’t function well without social connections. We all want to feel accepted, and valued, and leave a legacy — and these are all emotional needs. To fill that emotional gap, you can use emotional triggers as a secondary source of motivation.

as example

You can set aside some of your time for social activities, like CSR projects or community development work.

When voting, first analyze the candidate’s economic policies, infrastructure plans, and technology proposals. If these align with your interests, then you can also consider their patriotic promises. However, always compare and balance both sides — sometimes the value you lose from compromising your patriotic ideals is greater than the benefits you gain from policies alone.

You can work for higher incentives, but also be ready to go the extra mile when your country or organization needs you. For example, if you are a digital economy advisor, you deserve a high salary for your expertise — but you can also work extra hours, sacrifice personal time, and aim to build the best digital infrastructure in Asia, or even the world, for the good of your country.

As a business owner, you can aim for high profits each year, but you can also allocate part of those profits to employee well-being, create new jobs, or support charity work — not just for tax benefits, but because you genuinely care about your country and want to improve the quality of life in your society.

Next time you’re about to make a decision or take action, prioritize the incentives you’ll receive. But don’t forget to consider emotional triggers as well — it’s like adding spice to your main dish, enhancing the experience without overpowering the core.