Imagine waking up full of energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead. Imagine feeling truly driven to take massive action and get stuff done. Well guess what, many people do feel that way! But my guess is that you don't. Why? Because you're reading this article! The answer for you may well lie in understanding "if then" motivation, why everyone uses it, and why it doesn't really work.
"If then" rewards and punishments are simple to understand. If something happens, then something else happens as a result. For example, if you don't go to school, then your parents will ground you. If you help clean the backyard, then your parents will end the grounding. Makes sense doesn't it? There are punishments for "bad" behavior and "rewards" for good behavior. It's motivation 101!
Unfortunately, "if-then" rewards and punishments only create motivation for very short periods of time and it also tends to create several negative consequences. Why? Well, if you are used to being rewarded or punished then what happens when no one rewards you or punishes you? Nothing happens does it! That's the point. You don't learn how to be self-motivated, you simply rely on someone giving you a reward for a job well done or punishing you for messing things up.
When you focus on a reward or a punishment you can tend to become conditioned to believing you should be rewarded for being good and punished for being bad. But what happens when you do something good and no-one rewards you? What happens when all you want to do is achieve a target so that you can get a reward? What happens when all you do it act out of fear of retribution for not acting? Is this the way you want to live?
This is not what motivation is really all about. Motivation is something that should come from within you and drives you to action based on a desire to achieve something. If someone has to reward you or punish you in order for you to do something, you are not actually motivated. Instead, you're just responding to an external stimulus (i.e. you take action in response to the belief that something good or bad may happen as a result).
Behavioural scientists Harry Harlow and Edward Deci identified the true formula for motivation. They found that the motivation formula is = Autonomy + Mastery + Purpose.
If you want to feel motivated and achieve great things each day you need to create an environment for yourself where motivation can exist. You need to create a life of autonomy, mastery and purpose. You do this by taking charge of your life, by making life happen, by not allowing others to tell you how to spend your life. This is autonomy. Do you do it? You need to pursue knowledge, to expand your abilities, to become better and better at something you love. This is mastery. Do you do that? You need to spend your time in pursuit of something greater than your basic needs, you need to follow your heart. This is purpose. Do you do this?
These three elements are extremely important to being a motivated person and are extremely important to understand as a student. In order to become far more motivated from within, you must take control of how you spend your time, take control of how you study, take control of who you study with, discover and understand why what you are doing is meaningful to you and something you want to master (e.g. good grades, please parents, self-satisfaction, to show everyone you're awesome etc) and to actually spend time doing something that creates a positive impact in the world (you don't have to always be doing school work you know). Do that and you will have found your motivation.
"If then" rewards and punishments are simple to understand. If something happens, then something else happens as a result. For example, if you don't go to school, then your parents will ground you. If you help clean the backyard, then your parents will end the grounding. Makes sense doesn't it? There are punishments for "bad" behavior and "rewards" for good behavior. It's motivation 101!
Unfortunately, "if-then" rewards and punishments only create motivation for very short periods of time and it also tends to create several negative consequences. Why? Well, if you are used to being rewarded or punished then what happens when no one rewards you or punishes you? Nothing happens does it! That's the point. You don't learn how to be self-motivated, you simply rely on someone giving you a reward for a job well done or punishing you for messing things up.
When you focus on a reward or a punishment you can tend to become conditioned to believing you should be rewarded for being good and punished for being bad. But what happens when you do something good and no-one rewards you? What happens when all you want to do is achieve a target so that you can get a reward? What happens when all you do it act out of fear of retribution for not acting? Is this the way you want to live?
This is not what motivation is really all about. Motivation is something that should come from within you and drives you to action based on a desire to achieve something. If someone has to reward you or punish you in order for you to do something, you are not actually motivated. Instead, you're just responding to an external stimulus (i.e. you take action in response to the belief that something good or bad may happen as a result).
Behavioural scientists Harry Harlow and Edward Deci identified the true formula for motivation. They found that the motivation formula is = Autonomy + Mastery + Purpose.
If you want to feel motivated and achieve great things each day you need to create an environment for yourself where motivation can exist. You need to create a life of autonomy, mastery and purpose. You do this by taking charge of your life, by making life happen, by not allowing others to tell you how to spend your life. This is autonomy. Do you do it? You need to pursue knowledge, to expand your abilities, to become better and better at something you love. This is mastery. Do you do that? You need to spend your time in pursuit of something greater than your basic needs, you need to follow your heart. This is purpose. Do you do this?
These three elements are extremely important to being a motivated person and are extremely important to understand as a student. In order to become far more motivated from within, you must take control of how you spend your time, take control of how you study, take control of who you study with, discover and understand why what you are doing is meaningful to you and something you want to master (e.g. good grades, please parents, self-satisfaction, to show everyone you're awesome etc) and to actually spend time doing something that creates a positive impact in the world (you don't have to always be doing school work you know). Do that and you will have found your motivation.
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