Motivation and Personal Well-being: Mind, Body, and Spirit
When it comes to achieving a personal best, we can all use that extra push. Motivation is the key to keeping your goals top of mind and on track. It helps you stay focused on what matters most and reminds you why it's worth fighting for something difficult. But if motivation alone doesn't cut it, your body might be secretly sabotaging you when it comes to reaching your goals and potential. And what's worse is that even when motivation finally kicks in, some studies report a decrease in happiness after achieving success—which makes sense when you think about how used our bodies are to surviving around-the-clock struggles (e.g., having an alarm go off at 5 am).
However, it doesn't have to be that way. Psychologists have a name for the process of activating motivation when it doesn't seem to be working as well as you'd like: reactivation . That is, you re-activate motivation by boosting your ability to use it and find ways to activate it in the future.
Though you might not think so, this is a common problem for those who are trying their hardest but still aren't achieving all they want. Authors Gail Matthews and Leona M. Schmidt describe reactivation as "forgetting about our source of energy" (i.e., something we can create with our actions) and "re-learning how to use that resource" (i.e. where to find the motivation we need).
In this way, reactivation can remind you that you have something to motivate yourself with, and how to use it.
I don't know about you, but I could use some help in this area. As a highly motivated person who is also creative, ambitious and always pushing boundaries, I can get easily caught up in my own head and lost in my own plans for the future. If I'm not able to stay grounded in the here and now , staying focused on what matters most—and enjoying what matters most now—becomes that much harder. For instance, even though I like cooking, baking has always been my passion .
Even if I can't bake for a living, I can still bake for fun, even if it's just a few days a week. But in order to do that, I need to focus on the moment-to-moment process of baking—which can be challenging when I have bigger goals and projects ahead of me.
During my college years, I first became interested in baking and the science behind it. After dabbling in the kitchen as a hobby, my passion turned into obsession as I realized that baking was more than something people did to get their daily dose of sugar. It was an art form I wanted to learn. I felt a strong desire to learn more about the chemical reactions behind baking, so I went from being a hobbyist to starting my first chemistry research project in the middle of high school . This led me to an internship at Yale University's Chemical and Environmental Biology department during my junior year of college —which became something bigger than I expected as my science fair project turned into a full-time job.
What does this have to do with reactivation? As it turns out, quite a bit.
It's not that someone suddenly told me, "Hey, you should pursue a career in baking!" Instead, I talked myself into believing that baking was something worthwhile—and then chased after it. But my bigger problem was a lack of reactivation. I did everything to keep myself motivated (i.e., " sticking to the program ") , but motivation alone (even for something as worthwhile as baking) was not enough. For me, I had achieved all my goals yet felt empty and unfulfilled.
At this point, it made sense that my baking project would become more than a hobby—especially since it helped me during my college years by offering more money and better opportunities for internships—but I still felt like I didn't have the drive to pursue it further . But then something strange happened: a year after baking turned into a full-time job, I made new goals and decided to take on something new . I was still very happy and content with my career path, but it was time for me to pursue something else.
After making this shift, I noticed that motivation happened when I decided to do what I wanted—like baking—rather than when I did things for others (e.g., getting a job). I finally got my mojo back , and felt that the energy and excitement brewing inside me had something to do with the choices I made.
So what does this have to do with reactivation?
Like baking your way through college or pursuing your passion in other areas of life, you can keep yourself motivated by strengthening your ability to use motivation . And you can encourage yourselves by looking at other people's success stories .
So, what can you do to re-activate motivation?
Focusing on anything outside of yourself , such as your goals or a past success, might bring about a temporary boost in motivation.
However, your ability to make changes and reach your goals will fade if you don't make improvements to your motivation skills . One good way of doing that is through self-reflection . What does it mean to have better self-reflection skills?
It means that you can learn from and improve upon the past instead of talking yourself into believing that you couldn't have achieved something because of how things were in the past. When things are changing in the present, it's important for you to focus on what matters most now.
One final note: You might be thinking, "But what if I have no goals? Shouldn't I just aim for no-fail?"
With that thought in mind, keep in mind that it's not about getting to a point where you fail all the time. Instead, it's about having an idea of a success you want to achieve and then sticking with it.
Here are some simple ways of doing that:
Keep your goals small . This will help you become more focused on what you want to do , while also making them easier for you to achieve . The former is because big goals can sometimes feel overwhelming , and the latter because you have something specific to work on .
Don't expect too much too soon . This will help you avoid being turned-off by the idea of failure, and instead focus on one small goal at a time. The great thing about small goals is that they are easier to achieve than larger ones, because they require less planning and preparation .
And when it comes to sticking with your goals, keep this in mind: You need to create a plan for yourself if you want to reach them.
Exercise: Think back on your life (or recent successes) and try using these tips.
Conclusion
I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I've had the ability to make changes and achieve my goals—and have been doing so for a number of years.
To do so, I'm not only a motivated person who believes that " motivation must precede action ," but also someone who thinks he needs to "reactivate" himself by sticking to some simple strategies and using some common sense. Before you know it, all of those things will become second nature to you.
And when that happens, you'll probably find yourself making new improvements and seeing your progress in areas where you haven't done so before .