Psychology Today: How to Overcome a Lack of Motivation

"What undermines reaching your goals

In this respect, Stanford University’s Nir Eyal’s research on motivation—full of common sense—is also eminently practical. And it’s unusually illuminating in addressing what interferes with our following through on well-meaning intentions and getting beyond our “natural” (as in, biological) resistances to doing so.

It’s well known that, however unconsciously, all humans seek homeostasis, both physically and psychologically. So when we feel off-kilter, leaving us in a state of distressing disequilibrium, we strive to make whatever adjustments will restore our organism’s balance.

To use Eyal’s terminology:

When the body can’t regulate itself [i.e., has lost homeostasis], our brain spurs us to action. It makes us do something to fix the problem. . . . Whether it’s food to nourish our bodies or friends to nourish our psyche, it creates the feeling of hunger or loneliness to make us feel bad enough to do something to meet that need.

Moving beyond willpower and emotions

The incentive necessary to stay focused on our goals relates primarily to the discomfort experienced until that goal (ultimate, immediate, or intermediate) is reached.

Historically, motivation has been viewed as having as much to do with emotions as beliefs. You do something because you feel like doing it. Or merely thinking you should do it may be enough to get you to do it—perhaps because you’d feel guilty otherwise.

When you say to yourself, “I just don’t feel like it now,” you’re excusing yourself in advance for postponing (maybe indefinitely) what earlier you felt motivated enough to execute.

Becoming less distractible is a self-disciplining skill requiring cultivation, especially when today’s technologically beguiling culture can motivate you to shift your focus onto an activity that in the moment feels more compelling yet is extraneous to your plan.

That’s why you want to do your best in choosing goals and objectives that are at once challenging and obtainable. For that will reduce the temptation to wander off course when you’re struggling and beginning to lose confidence in succeeding with the goals you’ve set for yourself.

His model emphasizes the final unconscious objective of all human behavior. Feeling uncomfortable about doing something, or persevering with it when we’ve run into a snag, isn’t really enough reason to quit or procrastinate on it. In fact, making a decision whether to stop or continue a process shouldn’t depend on emotions. To be happy in life, it’s vital not to give up on what would fulfill us, unless provided with more information, we’ve either ceased regarding it as fulfilling or come to realize it's just not possible for us.

Other than that, we should be willing to work through whatever hindrances we encounter, adhering to the personal ideals that gave rise to our goals in the first place. And that should be independent of any immediately discouraging feelings or what we typically associate with willpower. Because we don’t have to depend on willpower either (vs. self-discipline) once we firmly commit to abiding by our plans—accepting that along the way, we’ll almost certainly encounter unexpected obstacles.

Eyal catalogs a large variety of proven techniques to help ward off the ever-present temptations that eventuate in self-sabotaging behavior. These techniques include (but are hardly limited to) deep breathing your way through an impasse, specifically scheduling the different facets of your task, and diligently staying away from social media."

Read the full article here!

Reflection:

What keeps you motivated?

#Motivation #Procrastination #EmotionalRegulation