What drives you to get off that couch and out the door?
How do you stop eating those donuts, or drinking that wine, when you want to slow down? How do you start that diet you have been meaning to?
These are the pressing issues in our mind so often. It all revolves around motivation. How do you get motivated to do something hard? Can you motivate yourself to do something, regardless of how hard it is? Is internal or external motivation better?
A key ingredient of achieving anything is motivating yourself. So today's podcast is on that very topic:
- The neuroscience behind the physiological and psychological process
- The 3 phases of being motivated
- Some of the inhibitors and enablers of motivation
- A simple 4-step framework to use to motivate yourself
Summary of Key Points:
- Motivation is what drives and sustains a person toward a goal.
- Motivation involves the reward circuits in the brain. Dopamine neurons in the mid-brain signal a reward prediction, which lets us predict – and take actions to increase – the probability of receiving a reward in the future.
- Rewards reinforce behaviour. If we perform a behaviour that is positively rewarded, the motivation to do it again increase.
Some Considerations on how our brain uses Dopamine;
- Risk/reward - Because the brain is based around risk/reward, we are motivated to do things that are considered rewarding and to not do things that are considered damaging, risky or a punishment.
- Tagged for importance - When a particular behavior in a given context it is rewarded, that behavior and context are paired and tagged with reward value for later repetition
- Baseline - We have a baseline of dopamine at any given time (otherwise we wouldn’t be driven to do anything).
- Expectation Principle - is important to know that motivation is in part due to the difference between expectation and reality. We form predictions about the reward and we use that to make decisions about what to do.
Things that Demotivate Us
- Unrealistic expectations
- Too many layers of Dopamine drivers
- Too much detailed visualization
Factors that Can Manipulate/Improve Motivation
- Positive self talk
- Focusing
- Taking action
- Some stimulants or medications
- Our thoughts
- Autonomous choice
- Behaviour modification, like visualization
- Social affiliation
How to Action This Information
- Step 1: Figure out your goal
- Step 2: Figure out your best action to achieve it
- Step 3: Be clear on your expectations
- Step 4: Stack your motivation factors
Don’t forget that When you achieve your goal, actively link your action to your achievement!
Sign Up to Learn More on How to Improve
If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to our site at Invictus.coach/register and get regular updates on how we are using Neuroscience and High Performance sk
Instantly Unlock Performance, Well-Being and Balance Now
The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being.
You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals.
You can find out more or sign up clicking here!
