10 Myths About

Motivation

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© Rob Archer, Bloom Psychology

The Motivation Myth

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Usually we think ‘I have to feel motivated before I do what matters.’

Actually, motivation follows action. We don’t need to feel motivated to do what’s important.

In fact, waiting for inspiration is dangerous. What would happen to athletes if they only trained on the days they felt inspired?

Myth 1: Motivation precedes action

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Myth 2: Motivation is rational

Brain scans show the ‘Smoking Causes Cancer’ signs actually encourage cravings - motivating more of the behaviour, not less.

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Myth 3: Motivation knows what’s best for usLinda Evangelista once said she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. In similar fashion, the reward centre of our brain needs to be sufficiently activated before it will get the prefrontal cortex to pay any attention.

But what is rewarding to us in the short term may not be rewarding in the long term.

A hit of dopamine from some new shoes is nice. But will we look back on those shoes with pride when we’re old and grey?

“Our emotional brain wants to max out the credit card, whilst our logical brain knows we should save for retirement”. Prof David Laibson

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Myth 4: Motivation is essential for performance.

There is a difference between motivation and commitment.

Motivation is simply the desire for something. We all have that.

But far fewer make a commitment to do the things they need to do to get what they want.

It’s commitment that’s essential for performance.

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For example, we might be motivated to keep trying our hardest if we really want something. But we can’t operate like computers, no matter how much we want something.

Myth 5: Motivation keeps you going

If we try to work at high speed for long periods of time, multitasking and never really switching off, our performance will get worse.

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Myth 6: Motivation needs confidence for successFor example, many think that visualising ourselves as being better than we are can create self esteem and generate even greater motivation.

Oh and for the record high self esteem correlates with egotism, narcissism, and arrogance, prejudice & discrimination self-deception, and defensiveness.

Nothing comes without a downside…

Yet for those people who are predisposed to anxiety and worry, trying to boost confidence by thinking positive thoughts actually makes them feel less confident and less motivated.

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Myth 7: Rewards motivate

OK, fair enough, rewards are good for most mechanical tasks.

However, where even rudimentary cognitive skill is required (for example problem solving, reasoning, creativity), larger rewards lead to poorer performance.

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Myth 8: Motivation is infinite.

Finding the motivation to do something often subtracts from our motivation elsewhere.

So even if we make it to the gym, we’ll often ‘offset’ this in other ways (consciously or not!).

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Myth 9: Motivation is a unidirectional forceA famous tests asked children to forego eating a marshmallow for 10 minutes, in order to receive two marshmallows. Some managed to succeed, but many did not.

A rush of dopamine is released when we think about eating marshmallows, buying a new outfit or a TV. We’re anticipating the rewards – how happy or attractive we’ll be in future.

One part of our brain is activated when this happens.

However it’s another part of our brain that thinks about longer term priorities – that’s why we sometimes feel ‘torn’ even within our own minds.

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Myth 9: Motivation is about wanting somethingMotivation is often about moving towards something you like, but it is also about moving away from things you don’t like. However, moving away from stuff you don’t like won’t necessarily move you towards stuff you do like.

Moving away from dangerous threats is clearly a good idea in some circumstances. But moving away from negative emotions and thoughts is not always straightforward.

Even though the choice between these options looks similar, just moving away from difficult thoughts can make your life smaller.

Choose with care.

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10. Some people have no motivationOnly motile creatures have brains. That’s because brains are what’s needed to solve problems on the move, and we need to solve problems in order to survive.

Therefore, everyone has motivation.

It’s just in some cases, their motivation may be to move away from things they don’t like. That’s why goals can be helpful.

But what slows people down is not lack of motivation, but the presence of obstacles.

Inflating motivation sounds sensible, but it rarely does anything to help remove the obstacles.