White Paper - Motivation
A short white paper on Motivation and how to harness it.
Why are we so good at thinking of what to do, but often so terrible at actually going through with it?
Well, it’ll often come down to our motivation, which is described as ‘the willingness to perform.’ And the reason for us being unwilling is because we rarely take emotions into account, and feelings are a fundamental and unavoidable part of why humans do what they do. We can’t ignore our emotions. Because of the way our brains are structured when thought and feelings compete, feelings almost always win.
Whether you are ‘motivating commitment’ during the sales process, or self motivating yourself to achieve something new, there are likely to be three subconscious steps in the process. One is very much about thought and the other two are more about feelings.
Let me give you an example. For fifteen years I was an ardent smoker (real cigarettes not electric!). I enjoyed it and if I’m honest I still do, even though it’s quite some time since I last smoked. I tried to quit countless times, sometimes more successfully than others. Here’s an explanation as to why I initially failed.
According to ASH, the UK action on smoking lobby, 19% of UK adults smoke. Now, how many of them know that it’s bad for their health, do you think? Given conventional wisdom and the fact that it’s printed on every pack, I’d estimate it’s pretty close to 100%. So, if so many people know it’s bad for them, why do they do it? Well, we are back to emotion - they don’t want to. But it is still the first step in the change process – rational understanding or KNOWLEDGE.
So how many of these 11 million+ people say they want to quit? According to ASH, it’s 65%. Yet only half of that number will attempt to do so this year. It’s important to be positive about a challenge, but that’s not going to guarantee success. That’s the second step, ATTITUDE.
Then comes the hard part, BEHAVIOUR. As much as I knew why I should quit, and constantly desire to do so, the balance between my motivation (the benefits to me) and the difficulty of the task, the former always lost to the latter. So, if you are going to change a habit, often one that is intrinsic and built up over many years, there has to be a strong will to change.
What motivates you?
Different elements motivate different people at different times. As an example, money has never been a key motivator for me, but it certainly was in the period before expecting my first child. This was mainly borne out of a ‘perception’ of having less money rather than the reality of it. The main motivators tend to be recognition, money, achievement, responsibility, co-operation with others, purpose, mastery and autonomy.
In case you think, as many people do, that it’s all about the money, then think again. As shown in the video (link below) the research shows that money only motivates performance when the task is mechanical. Where creativity or emotive actions are required, then money actually reduces the level of performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
What can you do?
If you are motivated enough to make a change, then you’ll need sufficient self discipline and support to leverage your motivation. Here are some actions that you can take to help you:
Visualise the future. What will it feel like to achieve the goal? Quantify it, if you can.
Don’t depart from your original plan.
If you occasionally do depart from the original plan, don’t make this a reason for giving up.
Try to be hard on yourself, when you know you are really just making excuses.
Try to get other people to put pressure on you, to increase your discipline.
Buddy up with someone going through the same situation to share experiences and ideas.
Set stage goals, make the first step easy.
Make the first step short term; i.e. today.
Foresee the negative effects if you do nothing.
Give yourself rewards for success.