We have all experienced it. You know you need to do that
thing, but you just cannot seem to make yourself. Yelling at yourself to pull
yourself together is not working, nor is reminding yourself of all the terrible
things that could happen if you do not do it. So you sit there, frozen, or you
distract yourself with tasks that do not matter.
Fortunately, there are proven strategies that build your
motivation overall, and techniques that help you find that silver of motivation
when it all feels too hard.
We have gathered four strategies from leading motivation
experts: Dr Julie Smith, Dr Aleyet Fishbach, Daniel Pink and Scott Geller.
1. “Just do it”
Do not wait for motivation to strike. Act first, then
motivation will follow. This is the advice of clinical psychologist, social
media star and author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, Dr Julie
Smith.
She says when we take action on something that is important
to us, it generates energy and motivation.
Dr Smith suggests you start by taking small steps towards
your bigger goal, and celebrate your small achievements to encourage yourself
to keep going.
2. Reward yourself
When you are low on motivation, you are often low on
intrinsic motivation – that is the type that comes from within you, and is
built or broken by your goals, values and sense of self. In these cases, you
can ramp up the extrinsic motivation – things outside yourself, like praise or
tangible rewards.
Dr Aleyet Fishbach, Professor of Behavioural Science and
Marketing at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and the
author of GET IT DONE: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation,
has won international awards for her research on human motivation. She suggests
that when you are facing a lack of motivation, focus on anything enjoyable.
This can include remembering one element of your work that you do find
enjoyable, or taking time to visualise the enjoyable outcome you will get, or
making the process more enjoyable, such as listening to music while you do it.
Then, reward yourself for getting the job done well. Dr
Fishbach advises against rewarding yourself for getting it done quickly, as
this may lead to mistakes and reduced motivation down the line.
3. Clarify your purpose
Daniel Pink is the author of Drive: The Surprising Truth
About What Motivates Us.
He says the “carrot and stick” approach to motivation, as in
external reward and punishment, is ineffective. It only works for small, basic
tasks and does not inspire creativity, engagement, and high performance in
complex, cognitive work.
Pink says we need to focus on intrinsic factors such as
autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
- Autonomy: we are in control of
what we do and how we do it - Mastery: we are improving our
skills and selves - Purpose: we are working towards
something that is worthwhile
Purpose is one of the most powerful factors of motivation,
says Pink.
He defines purpose as the desire to contribute to something
greater than yourself.
That is why organisations who can communicate a shared
mission and vision with their employees are more successful than others.
