How To Be Motivated 4 New Insights From Research
Sometimes there is not enough coffee in universe to get you going. How to be motivated is something we all struggle with at some time or another. Or, um, daily. Motivation is such a mystery. It's a feeling and we understand it so poorly it feels impossible to do anything about it. Is there anyone who can unravel the science of how motivation works and tell us what to do? Yes. Dan Pink wrote the book on motivation. Literally. He's the New York Times bestselling author of Drive The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. He's also the host and executive producer of the TV show "Crowd Control" which airs on National Geographic Channel. His books have sold more than 2 million copies. And his TED talk on motivation is one of the most popular TED talks ever. , Here's what I love about Dan He's not the type to write a book and just move on. He's still thinking about these ideas and has new insights into motivation that you can learn from even if you've read his book or seen his talk. Here's what you'll get from this post, Let's get to it, You're probably thinking too much about the rewards involved. "I want the promotion" or "I want the A' on the exam.", You might be enthusiastic about the "carrot" or afraid of the "stick", but you're just not excited about doing the task itself. Rewards like money are tricky. They are definitely powerful, especially in the short term. Here's Dan, But looking exclusively at rewards doesn't work over longer time horizons or for complex tasks. We inevitably take the pay raise for granted, and if we're still not excited about the task  boom  we're less motivated again. Here's Dan, We all want money. Good luck getting people to show up at work if you stop paying them., Rewards are essential  but they're not everything. We all know well-paid lazy people. And we all know people who enthusiastically engage in hobbies which can look suspiciously like "work" to outsiders for free. For more on how to stop being lazy and get stuff done, click here., So rewards just motivate us to get rewards. They don't make us care about the task at hand. Which raises the obvious next question How can you make yourself care?, Dan's found three things in the research that go a long way toward getting us motivated assuming we're already paid a fair amount. Remember "AMP", Let's break them down. Autonomy, Autonomy means we don't like being told what to do. Once we feel we're being pushed around, we check out. This is why kids might like puzzles but hate homework. They're both problem-solving but only one has people nagging you about it. Similarly, nobody has ever said, "I love a micromanaging boss." A lack of autonomy kills workplace engagement. Here's Dan, Mastery, Why practice the guitar? Are you getting paid for it? Why try to improve your tennis serve? Are you getting paid for it?, We just naturally like getting better at things. This is why video games have rankings, levels, and points. They say "You're improving" and that feels good. Here's Dan, But the workplace can be just awful at this. Candy Crush and Call of Duty immediately tell you if you're getting better. Yet at work you get an annual review. See why one is addictively fun and the other can make every Sunday night so sad?, Purpose, Kids are expensive, time consuming and often difficult to deal with. I suggest you sell yours to the highest bidder immediately. Are you religious? Patriotic? Loyal to friends and family? Sounds like a lot of obligations. Get rid of all that baggage right now. Sound crazy? Of course it does. These things provide purpose to our lives and purpose is immensely valuable to all of us. Here's Dan, In the time since his book Drive came out Dan has a more refined view of purpose. There are 2 types, Here's Dan, Again, many workplaces can be a mess here, too. Whether it's saving lives or just making a material contribution at work, we don't often see the results we create. Wharton professor Adam Grant did an amazing study where he created a huge spike in motivation at a university call center without spending a nickel. His secret?, He showed the employees letters written by grateful students who had received scholarships due to their efforts. They heard the difference their work made in young people's lives. And their motivation soared even higher when the students were brought in and said thanks in person. Via Give and Take A Revolutionary Approach to Success, For more on how you can motivate others, click here., So maybe you're a total motivational rockstar and you make sure to find a situation where you have autonomy, mastery and a deep sense of purpose. Even if you have the three tentpoles, what keeps you going day to day? What gets you through the rough patches?, Teresa Amabiles research at Harvard found that the most motivating thing is progress in meaningful work. Via The Progress Principle Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, What's fascinating is that this is so powerful that the mere illusion of progress is enough to get our engines revving. Seriously. In one study, researchers gave people "Buy 10 coffees and get 1 free" cards. And they gave a different group "Buy 12 coffees and get 1 free" cards but with 2 purchases already marked. So effectively both groups were starting from the same point. But that's not how the recipients saw it. The "buy 12 group bought coffees a lot faster because they felt they had made more progress toward the goal. Merely thinking you've made progress can get you motivated. For more on how happiness leads to success, click here., But sometimes it feels like you're just treading water. You may have goals but it's hard to see progress. What do you do then?, Goals are great but big ones are abstract, far away and sometimes hard to relate to. And it can take months or years to achieve something big. The secret is small wins. Those little achievements you can see day to day. Anything that went well or worked out. Don't take that good presentation or minor achievement for granted. That's progress and paying attention to those can keep you trucking when you're feeling less than motivated. Here's Dan, And the science is with Dan. Teresa Amabiles research at Harvard backs him up. Via The Progress Principle Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, Olympic swimmers use small wins to make it through months of rigorous training. And Dan even applied "small wins" to how you can best use my weekly emails, For more on the science of how to be resilient, click here., Some of you may still be skeptical. Or feel these strategies won't work because of what an exquisitely special snowflake you are. Join over 151,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts, How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done  5 Expert Tips, 6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day, New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful