Or organize a brainstorming session, after-work meet-up or other activity to create that connection. “Without that fundamental connection, motivation just starts to wither.”įeeling blah at work? Contact colleagues to collaborate on a project or to ask for specific advice relevant to their expertise. Park said, especially following the pandemic’s forced isolation. Social connections like this are critical to rekindling motivation, Dr. ![]() Winder said she draws her sense of purpose from her community - she is Duckwater Shoshone, Pyramid Lake Paiute and Southern Ute - and suggested considering how your motivation is tied to the people around you, whether that’s your family or your basketball team. One that kept coming up for me was connection - another key part of motivation. I tried writing down a few words that resonated with my values. Winder, who teaches workshops on reconnecting to your sense of purpose, often has students free write about what makes them come alive. Writing about your values can be a good start, said Tanaya Winder, an Albuquerque-based motivational speaker and poet. What do you love about your work? What core value does it meet? Ryan, a professor at Australian Catholic University in North Sydney, said that when you connect the things that are important to you to the things you need to do - even the drudgeries - you can feel more in control of your actions. Ryan, one of two scientists who developed a well-known approach to understanding motivation called self-determination theory, encourages those seeking lasting motivation to take a deep dive into their values.ĭr. I found a favorite mug that I only use while writing and made a special tea or hot chocolate to sip in front of the computer. When she uses the treadmill for an evening workout, she pairs it with Netflix to make running inside more pleasant. Lora Park, an associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo, ran marathons before kids but now finds it can be hard to find a workout window before dark. But several studies suggest that pairing small, immediate rewards to a task improves both motivation and fun. Looking forward to a reward isn’t the best for long-term motivation. But when it came to this story, I found that motivation touches so many parts of our lives - school, work, exercise, volunteering, health - that I didn’t know where to begin. This is when you feel like you’re self-directed, whether you have a natural affinity for the task at hand, or you’re doing something because you understand why it’s worthwhile. The second kind, autonomous motivation, is what we’re seeking. ![]() Di Domenico said, “is ‘I’m doing this because I have to, not because I want to.’” Often when people say they’ve lost motivation, “what they really mean,” Dr. It’s hard to stay motivated when you’re not in the driver’s seat. The Forces That MoveĪs you look for your motivation, it helps to think of it falling into two categories, said Stefano Di Domenico, a motivation researcher who teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough.įirst, there’s controlled motivation, when you feel you’re being ruled by outside forces like end-of-year bonuses and deadlines - or inner carrots and sticks, like guilt or people-pleasing. Whatever situation we’re in, a closer look at motivation might give us more fuel to move forward, both day-to-day and into an uncertain future. Others could feel more like I do - nothing’s terribly wrong, but we can’t quite find our spark. Some of us might have full-on burnout after a year-plus of loss, grief and pandemic challenges. ![]() Motivation is the energy that gets us to take action - and I’m not the only one finding it hard to come by. And when my editor asked me to research a story about motivation, all I could think was: Ugh. ![]() Between Covid-19 variants and Western wildfires, I’m not fired up about a family road trip. The pool stopped requiring reservations, but I haven’t been since June. With vaccines on their way, I even made travel plans. I couldn’t wait to write new stories once my kids went back to school. I’d figured out the public pool’s lane-reservation system and swam several times a week.
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