45. Motivation

Motivation is an inner push to act. Psychologists suggest that it ‘is an innate human drive and begins in infants as an undifferentiated need for competence and self-determination’.(1) There is no doubt that being able to affect our motivation is of great value, as little can be done without it. We are all too familiar with the debilitating effect that a lack of motivation can have. Learning about it is important not only to motivate ourselves, but also to be able to motivate others. This area will consider various types of motivation and how it can be increased.

Negative and positive motivation

• Negative motivation (an aspiration to preserve the existing state and avoid whatever threatens to make it worse) is associated with negative feelings (e.g. fear).
• Positive motivation (moving further, expanding, improving the existing state) is associated with positive feelings.

The former can sometimes be stronger, but the latter is more effective in the long run. Besides, negative motivation often ends in experiencing a lack of energy and desire for rest – not from the trigger, but from the unpleasant feelings that one is motivated by. It is interesting though that whether motivation is positive or negative often depends on our perspective (e.g. you can run from an attacker, or you can run for safety). To transform negative motivation into positive, you need to focus on what can be gained, rather than on what has been or can be lost; for example, you can motivate yourself to prepare for an exam by the fear of failure, or by a desire to do well. The former can jolt you into action but the latter is better in sustaining your motivation because it feels good.

Now, there are several categories of positive motivation – it can be useful to become familiar with them as they can help us expand our repertoire of possible ways to motivate ourselves.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake. Extrinsic motivation is motivation to engage in an activity as a means to an end (e.g. because we are offered a reward, such as money). There is no sharp divide between these types though; they are better imagined as ends of a spectrum:

The following subcategories can be discerned on this spectrum:

• Enjoyment (‘because I like’): you find an activity interesting or enjoyable. A hobby would be a good example. 
• Competence (‘because I can’): you perceive an activity as a challenge, an opportunity to test or prove your competencies and powers (e.g. rock climbing).
• Worth (‘because I want’): you perceive an activity as worthwhile doing (e.g. getting physically fit).
• Commitment (‘because I have to / need to’) you have made a promise or have a sense of duty (e.g. meeting a deadline).
• Reward (‘because I will get something out of it’) you engage with an activity because you expect to benefit from it.

Evidence shows that intrinsic motivation fosters creativity(2) and can promote learning and achievement better than extrinsic motivation.(3) An offer of a reward to perform a task that is already seen as enjoyable or interesting can, in fact, reduce intrinsic motivation if it is allowed to take over as a motivator. This is important to be aware of as we still tend to rely excessively on rewards in the workplace, education and personal lives. That doesn’t mean, of course, that these types of motivation cannot be combined when it makes sense (e.g. learning can be intrinsically interesting and enjoyable, but at the same time you can be motivated by your desire to do well at exams). However, intrinsic motivation should be nurtured as a primary motivator whenever possible and we should rely on extrinsic motivation only if the intrinsic one is absent and cannot be incited.

Building motivation

Each of the above categories offer several ways of motivating ourselves and also others:

Enjoyment

• Fun: if an activity is not already fun, link it to something that is (e.g. listen to music or dance while vacuum-cleaning).
• Curiosity, interest, novelty: how can you do what you need to do in a novel way or make it more interesting?
• Company usually makes tasks more enjoyable so, for example, if exercise is a drag for you, find a jogging buddy.

Competence

• Challenge yourself to do something, to do it well, or to do it better than the last time. You can also compete with others.
• Feedback: (self)praise and even criticism that opens up the prospect of improvement can be good motivators.
• Progress or achievement: even a small step that gives you a sense of progress or achievement can motivate you to carry on.

Worthwhileness

• See the value in what you are doing: highly motivated people believe that their actions will make a difference.
• Imagine the outcomes of your actions (e.g. how your room will look when you tidy it up).
• Ideals: linking your action to your ideals (e.g. a belief in justice and fairness) can substantially increase motivation.

Commitment

• Make a promise to somebody – or to yourself.
• Team-work motivates us as we don’t want to let others down.
• Do it out of love (e.g. you may persist with something in order to make your family proud).

Reward

• Treats: promise yourself a treat when you finish a task.
• Enhancing self-esteem: imagine how you will feel about yourself if you accomplish the task.
• Benefits: if your motivation falters, remind yourself of possible benefits (a pay, prize, promotion, recognition, etc.).

Procrastination

Putting off important tasks is one of the biggest obstacles to any achievement, so stop making excuses and deceiving yourself (‘I’ll feel more like doing it tomorrow’, ‘I work best under pressure’). The more you procrastinate, the harder your tasks become. This is because they accumulate or you have less time to do them. Think of it as getting into a cold sea – the more you delay, the more difficult it is to get in, but once you are in you will just swim along! Being lazy and doing nothing can be actually pretty boring and depressing. Achieving something is more fun. Getting started is the hardest part in this respect. So start with small, manageable tasks – one at a time – or say to yourself, ‘I will work on this just for half an hour / ten minutes, and see how it goes.’ Congratulate yourself when you achieve even something small. Priming can help too: focus on wanting rather than on not wanting to do something. Forcing yourself to act may work, but it creates internal conflicts and can be tiring. These exercises can help you enhance your motivation so that you don’t need to force yourself.

Building motivation: take a task that you find difficult to motivate yourself to do (e.g. household chores, revising, exercising, etc.). Go through the above list (e.g. you may try to find something interesting or challenging in that task, you can imagine vividly all the advantages and benefits of accomplishing it, etc) until you come to the point that you actually really want to do it.

Invoking motivation: imagine that you are accomplishing something that makes you feel good; it could be something small and completely unrelated to what you need to do – the point of it is to get into the right frame of mind. Once there, forget about the activity itself and let that feeling of  doing something constructive, accomplishment, flood over you. Now approach a task at hand with that frame of mind.

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(1)  Pintrich, P. R. and Schunk, D. H. (1996) Motivation in Education. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, p.285
(2) Marzano, R. J. et al. (1988) Dimensions of Thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, p.25. 
(3) Ibid., p.284. 

This area is not about changing your job, wallpaper, country or partner – it is about changing yourself; in other words, your habitual cognitive, emotional and behavioural patterns.

What do you want to change?

Being able to make a personal change is essential. So this chapter will be very practical and to get the most out of it, it may be a good idea to start by thinking about something that you would like to change. Choose something small because this increases your chances of success and confidence. Define what you want to achieve in simple, clear and positive terms (for example, rather than aiming to lose weight, aim to be fit or to look good).

Prerequisites for successful change

‘I can’, ‘I want’ and ‘I like’ are three conditions for successful change. If all three are present, you can hardly fail!

‘I can’: we are all capable of both failing and succeeding. If you believe that you can’t change, it is true; if you believe that you can, it is also true. To strengthen 'I can', think about successful changes that you have made in the past. If you can’t remember any, just consider that if others can change, you can change too.

‘I want’: you need to believe that the change is worth your time and effort. Filling in this table can help you make it clear:

Old pattern		New pattern
Advantages	Disadvantages	Advantages	Disadvantages

However, if wanting to change is only in your head, it may not be sufficient – the resolution needs to come from your gut. A half- hearted attempt is unlikely to succeed, so make sure that you really want to make a change. The stronger and deeper the feelings associated with the change are, the more profound the change will be. The following interventions can help in this respect.

Wanting change: imagine what your life will look like (in a few days, months or years) if you continue in the same direction. Then imagine vividly that you have changed. What will it look like? How will you feel? Which one is better? Nurture a sense that you can live well without the old habit by seeing life after the change in a positive light.

‘I like’: We can learn to like and dislike something. Nobody likes their first cigarette or first glass of vodka but some persist and learn to like it. If we can learn to like what is not good for us, we can learn to like what is. We can do so by associating a change with a good experience. For example, rather than forcing yourself to eat healthily, find a way to enjoy it: prepare a nice meal and/or add to it something that you already like (e.g. bacon bits, grated cheese, good company, or nice music – be creative!). You can combine this with growing a dislike for the old habit: associate it with unpleasant feelings. 'But', you may ask, 'what can I like if I just want to give up something (e.g. smoking)?' You can like being in charge and free (from the old habit); the benefits of the new (e.g. smelling good, breathing well); the company of likeminded people; yourself, your body, your mind, your life!

The stages of change

It is widely accepted that there are several stages of change(1). Here are some suggestions for each of them:

Learn about your habit

• Its causes: to examine the causes or reasons why you have a particular habit, imagine that you no longer do what you usually do – how do you feel? How can you address the underlying feeling that causes your habit?
• Its triggers: to locate its triggers, observe your habit without any interference. A trigger can be your state of mind, other people or certain events. Consider how they can be neutralised –what else could you do in a trigger situation?

Prepare

• Set an achievable, realistic goal. Bear in mind that a small change is better than a big failure.
• If you have succeeded in making a change in the past, recall what helped you then – the same or similar may help you now.
• Your old habit may be part of a larger picture (e.g. staying out late may be a part of your social life). In this case, you may need to do something about other parts too (e.g. friends who encourage you to stay out late).
• Be prepared for the fact that some people around you may not be supportive: think about who may want (perhaps unconsciously) to sabotage the change and what you can do about it. By the same token, consider who you can talk to or rely on if you are in danger of relapsing.
• Go back to the above table that compares the old pattern and the new one, and consider how you can compensate for the advantages of the former and the disadvantages of the latter.
• Decide if you will make a change gradually or in one go.
• Consider the timing (e.g. if you are taking exams next week, it may be better to make your change after that) and set the date.
• Attempt to make a change only when you feel ready. Are you 100% ready? If you are not, go back to the prerequisites.

Go for it

• Announce your intentions and ask others to support you.
• Stop negotiating with yourself (or you will lose it). Just do it!
• Dis-identify with what needs to be changed and identify with the new (e.g. if you wish to be more outgoing, stop thinking about yourself as a shy person). You can even mentally identify with an image that symbolises the change (e.g. a rock if you want to be more firm with your choices).

Persist

Persistence is essential in this process because old patterns tend to return out of habit. This may be the hardest part (as somebody once said: ‘It's easy to stop smoking, I do it twenty times a day’). However, persevering is worthwhile: in addition to the specific benefits, every successful change also increases your sense of personal power and control. This can help you to persist:

• Use a tempting situation as a reminder to stick to your goal.
• Catch yourself when tempted, acknowledge your feelings and thoughts, and then remember the consequences of backsliding (e.g. how you will feel tomorrow).
• It is much easier to relapse when excited, so be especially vigilant if you notice that you are getting keyed up.
• Use your imagination to put yourself off a temptation (e.g. imagine slime dripping on and covering a cake you fancy).
• Enjoy the new as well as its benefits, and appreciate your achievement (no false modesty, making a change is a big deal!)

If you relapse

If you experience a relapse, accept it as a temporary setback – you are defeated only if you give up! Be aware of what is going on though, as this may help you in the future. Establish why it has happened and develop a strategy for similar situations in the future. For example, if you had a cigarette because you were annoyed, think about what you will do instead the next time you get annoyed. A frequent reason for relapse is forgetting what you have decided. So, remember to remember!

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(1) Prochaska, J., Norcross, J. & Diclemente, C. (1994) Changing for Good. New York: Collins.