Motivation and Change

Motivation: constructing a mental framework

By Dr. Tim O’Brien - Consultant Psychologist

What is motivation?

Motivation is one of the key areas of performance psychology. To construct a mental framework that will enhance motivation, we need to understand what motivation is. The origin of the word ‘motivation’ is interesting in itself; it comes from the Latin word ‘motus’ meaning ‘move’. The concept of motivation involves the desire for movement from one ‘state’ (cognitive/emotional/physical) to another. Fundamentally, motivation involves being energised to change our behaviour.

We are motivated to change our behaviour when it has real meaning for us to do so. Sometimes it is to alter an undesired present state. For example, we might perceive that the discrepancy between what we look like and what we really want to look like is too large, or maybe the gap between who we want to be and who we think we are is so big that we decide to take action to enable change. Motivation can be directed towards areas related to avoidance, such as aiming to eliminate threat, avoiding pain and at its most basic the motivation to survive. It can also be related to achievement such as attaining a new goal, learning a new skill, mastering a current skill or wanting to demonstrate competence to others.

To maintain and sustain motivation we have to challenge, or be challenged about our beliefs and values. We have to engage in reflection about the deeper structures of our consciousness, confront our potential to change and discover new knowledge about who we are and what we can achieve. This ongoing process is necessary if we are to fulfil our potential.

Being motivated about being motivated

Let’s be honest, being motivated is not always easy. It involves effort and is likely to include dealing with disappointments and making sacrifices. In fact it can be difficult to be motivated about being motivated. This is because we can get caught up in behaviour patterns that respond to the varied nature of the feedback we receive about our perceived probability of success in a particular task. Our efforts can be inconsistent as a consequence. If you are about to tackle a new challenge, or indeed are in the middle of one, do not feel bad about this and do expect it to happen. There are many psychologists and philosophers who would argue that humans are inherently inconsistent in the way that they behave. It is a normal and natural part of the human condition to experience times when you lack the motivation to get yourself motivated. Everyone needs techniques and strategies to help them along the way so that they can overcome inevitable barriers to motivation, I will recommend some strategies later in this article. What we think - and what we do about what we think - emanates from beliefs that we have about our ‘self’. Being motivated can be difficult because it causes us to confront our concept of self, our needs as an individual and to deal with fundamental issues about the essence of who we are.

Internal or external?

Psychologists generally agree that there are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic means external and intrinsic means internal. In reality this separation of two types of interacting mental processes might over-simplify matters, however, it does allow us to think about how these motivation types are similar and different. One element that they both have in common is that they involve reward. This is positive news - as research shows that behaviours that are rewarded are more likely to be reinforced. It is important to understand the difference between the two types of motivation because whatever type you choose has a direct impact upon performance.

Extrinsic motivation works. People who shop at a particular store in order to gain loyalty points are proof that it does. However, embarking upon a new challenge based solely on receiving extrinsic rewards can be problematic. You can become over-reliant on external sources of reward and that will replace the powerful feeling of self-satisfaction and pride that occurs intrinsically when we change our behaviour and meet a new goal.

Imagine that you decide to take action to improve your wellbeing. There will usually be one key person who can help you to manage your wellbeing and support you in making a change. They design an intervention programme through consulting with you, and then they support and guide you. Psychologically, it is tempting for some of us to enter a mental state where we engage in change-related activity simply because someone else is there to make us do so. Unfortunately, this leads to becoming totally dependent upon the input and feedback you receive from such a person. The result is that long-term persistence and commitment will be affected once the person who is ‘making’ you do something stops regulating your behaviour. This is because within the relationship motivation has become extrinsic: you have created a belief that someone else is responsible for making you change and your motivation alters when they are no longer directly involved with you. It is also easier to attribute blame to someone else if you are extrinsically motivated. Extrinsically your behaviour change depends on someone other than you, and as a consequence behaviour change can be short-term, fluctuating, and old habits and beliefs may return rapidly.

I propose that intrinsic motivation works best. This is mainly because you are doing something that matters to you internally and that you want to achieve in; something that you enjoy or learn to enjoy meaning that you can be motivated by the activity itself.

People who are intrinsically motivated are predisposed to take responsibility for changing their behaviour; they do not look for accountability outside of their own self. Of course someone can still design a programme of wellbeing change for you, monitor your progress and encourage you – but psychologically there are some key differences. If you are intrinsically motivated you develop greater autonomy, the person supporting the change in your wellbeing becomes a mediator of change. You self-regulate therefore you stay motivated as the relationship phases out and also when it ends. In this context behaviour change can be maintained over the long-term and you discover a new way of being. a willing to take advantage of the changes in your physical and emotional wellbeing.

Finding the D’s in ‘motivation’

Now that you have considered the nature and types of motivation you can begin to construct a mental framework, but where do you start? First of all by engaging in some lateral thinking and answering this question: how many ‘D’s are there in ‘motivation’?

I suggest that there are four: Direction, Desire, Determination and Destination.

Direction: You need to know where you want to be at the end of your journey. You have to gain clarity about what the journey ahead involves. Ask yourself ‘what do I want to do and in what aspect of my life? What exactly do I want achieve and for or what purpose?’

Visualise your preferred outcome – what are you doing when you achieve your goal? What does it look like? What are you feeling? What are those close to you saying to you?

Desire: You will begin in a motivated state if you really want to change. Notice the language that you use. Are you going to ‘try’ to do something or do you intend to actually do it? Ask: how much does this goal really mean to me? What commitment am I willing to make? How far out of my comfort zone am I willing to go? How much of my energy am I willing to commit?

Determination: Achieving a goal involves planning what to do during times of adversity. Making changes is rarely a smooth process, there is likely to be rough ground on the road ahead. Ask: How long will I remain committed? What beliefs do I have about my ability to stay committed? How will I bounce back from setbacks along the way? What techniques do I have for dealing with barriers or barricades to motivation?

One technique to help overcome barriers is to store mental pictures about successful aspects of the process, and outcomes of being motivated. For example, think about a time when you were in a particular emotional state – feeling low or tired - and you made a conscious decision to take some exercise. What did you say to yourself? What did you do differently to make yourself change your behaviour? Then, remember how pleased you felt afterwards. This is not only because motion changes emotion but also because you enabled yourself to change from one state to another. I use this as an example because psychologically it highlights a critical factor in motivation: control.

You took control of the situation, reflected, made judgments about what was best for you and then made a behaviour change. You did something different instead of just thinking about doing something different. In the jargon of Psychology, you were the ‘locus of control’ and motivation works best when this is the case. Store images about when you challenged yourself to do something, remember what it felt like to achieve what you wanted to achieve and use these positive images motivationally. There are specific psychological techniques that can be taught which increase a person’s ability to do this. Research in the field of neuropsychology illustrates that the amygdala in your brain enjoys the visual projection of positive outcomes and will respond accordingly.

Destination: To stay focussed on your goal you actually have to have ways of knowing that you are getting closer to your goal. You also have to know exactly what is happening when you reach your goal. This avoids confusion about goal-related behaviours where people can forget to re-cast a goal. It also prevents emotional and physical burnout when people reach a goal and continue to do more of the same believing that this ensures progress. Ask: How will I know when I have achieved my goal? How will I reward myself?

When you have answered the questions honestly and realistically you have a framework. You are set to focus on what you want to achieve not what you want to avoid. All you need to do now is to remember…if you think you can, and you behave as if you can – you will.