It's a few weeks into the new year and we know there are already many forgotten new years' resolutions out there. This is naturally to be expected but it begs the question as to why this initial sense of enthusiasm always seems to dwindle? And why do we still bother trying, year after year, to implement positive change in our lives when we can never stick to it?
We have taken it upon ourselves to research why this happens and what we can do to overcome it. We took the scientific route while gathering tips, to ensure that you will be able to keep hold of some motivation all year round. (Sidenote: Did you know there is a Society for the Science of Motivation? They must be a very excited and driven group).
Motivation Defined
Motivation as a person's internal disposition to be concerned with and strive for positive incentives and avoid negative incentives. It is a person's desire to do things.
Why Motivation Fluctuates
Research has proven that motivation is non-linear and non-stable. There are many elements that influence motivation including environment, mental state and ability. There are some conflicting arguments out there as to whether the task being performed has an affect on our motivation or not.
How To Preserve Our Motivation
It may be no surprise to you that staying motivated has everything to do with your mental state. This is simple to summarize but developing your mentality so that your motivation remains stable is a bit more complex.
Tip One: Feeling in Control
Evidence shows that people feel more motivated when they think they are being self-directed. In other words, people are more motivated when they feel they are doing something because they want to, rather than they have to. It is important to realize that the things we think we are being compelled to do are actually still a choice.
We are more in control than we think. For instance, we think we have to [example] but this is really still a choice. So in order to feel more motivated, we need to realize that a lot of the things we do that feel like obligations are actually still choices. This means we need to change our mindset and how we view our environment. We have control and can change our environment if we need to.
Tip Two: Feeling Accomplished
Studies show that people who believe that talents are predetermined or "in our genes" have less drive to build skills and give up more easily. Whereas people who believe talent is an achievement that requires practice don't give up as easily when faced with a hurdle. Studies also show that when we feel like we are good at something, we are motivated to pursue it even more.
Again this comes down to how we view things. The cliche that anything is possible with enough practice rings true. We are more competent than we think and need to realize that, with practice, we can accomplish more. In a sense we can view motivation like a snowball effect. It takes a lot of motivation at first, but as we get more practice in, our sense of competence rises and our motivation to further our pursuits increases exponentially.
Tip Three: It's Not About The Task - It's About How We View It
Studies show that the task does not determine the level of motivation we give to it. It is the value we mentally assign the task that decides how motivated we will be. In other words, if we view a task as something that is aligned with our values and identity, then we view it as more important and we are more motivated to tackle it.
Again, the solution is to change our mental state. If we examine a task and ask ourselves to identify what is valuable about it, it helps us to connect to the bigger picture. It makes us realize the importance of the task and boosts our motivation.
Conclusion: It's All There In Your Head
There are a lot of tips out there for managers, teachers, and leaders on how to get others motivated. But the truth is, it's on us to motivate ourselves. Changing how we think is not easily done. But if we leave ourselves constant reminders on how we should be viewing ourselves, our environment, and our tasks, we can expect to see more stable levels of motivation.
So with those new years resolutions, we need to connect our goals with the bigger picture - discover the reason why we set those goals in the first place. This assigns value to the tasks that will help us accomplish the goal. We also need reminders that the ability is in us to reach that goal with enough practice. We need to acknowledge there will be set backs (this is normal for any type of practice) but that does not mean quit. The more effort we give to accomplishing something, the easier it gets. You can do it!
