It is an internal state that helps us to start, continue and finish a certain action. It is thanks to her that we eat when we are hungry, continue to go to work to pay bills, and break off relationships that no longer make us happy. Thus, almost any activity we can imagine begins with self-motivation.
To strengthen self-motivation, it is necessary to develop personal qualities and skills on which it depends. Here are some of them:
A Harvard Business School study showed N. Nohria, B. Groysberg, L. E. Lee. Employee motivation: A powerful new model / Harvard Business Review that the only factor that makes employees be more diligent is the desire to get closer to others.
When we hear the word "self-motivation", we can imagine a long to-do list or an overloaded schedule. In fact, it is much easier to maintain motivation if you find an opportunity to get closer to other people. If it is difficult for you to move towards the goal or there is a task that is difficult , connect social connections to the process.
The same study proved N. Nohria, B. Groysberg, L. E. Lee. Employee motivation: A powerful new model / Harvard Business Review : when we feel that we fully understand what we are doing, our involvement in the process increases. It sounds logical. If we do something well, we are less disappointed and experience more pleasure from work.
Experts have also found out that we remain the most involved and motivated when we are engaged in moderately complex tasks. Too complex ones reduce our self-esteem, and too easy ones cause boredom.
Two more incentives that motivate us N. Nohria, B. Groysberg, L. E. Lee. Employee motivation: A powerful new model / Harvard Business Review , is the desire to get something that will improve our quality of life, such as food or money, and the need to protect ourselves, such as our property or principles. Therefore, it will be useful to remind yourself of these basic desires and think about what actions will help to implement them.
Once we get used to doing something, it becomes much easier to continue. That is why the ability to form habits is very useful for increasing self-motivation. The author of the book "Nano Habits" B. J. Fogg advises starting with very tiny steps and developing the habit gradually. For example, if you want to run a kilometer a day, start with 100 meters, then increase the distance to 200, then 300, and so on.
Implementation intentions are a strategy P. M. Gollwitzer. Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans / American Psychologist planning from the point of view of "if — then", where "if" is a situational stimulus, and "then" is a planned response to it.
To determine your implementation intentions, you need to decide in advance that if event A does not happen, you will do B. For example, if a business meeting does not take place, you will spend this time working on a report.
