How to get motivated even when you don’t feel like it

1,684,939 views ・ 2024-01-02

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:07
You've always aspired to be a professional artist.
0
7045
4921
00:12
At last, this dream may become a reality,
1
12300
2878
00:15
and you're creating a portfolio to submit to art programs.
2
15178
4170
00:19
But as the application deadline looms,
3
19682
3128
00:22
you suddenly find yourself unmotivated, and avoiding the canvas altogether.
4
22810
6131
00:29
Why does motivation seem so fickle?
5
29859
3420
00:33
And what even is it in the first place?
6
33446
3003
00:37
Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus
7
37283
4463
00:41
to initiate and maintain a particular behavior.
8
41746
3962
00:46
In other words, it's the energy that drives you to do something.
9
46375
4880
00:51
And knowing the source of that drive is particularly important
10
51714
4088
00:55
when it comes to understanding how to maintain it.
11
55802
3753
00:59
These motivational forces generally fall into two broad categories:
12
59764
4713
01:04
intrinsic and extrinsic.
13
64769
3128
01:08
Intrinsic motivation is involved when you experience an activity
14
68397
4213
01:12
as an end in itself.
15
72610
1627
01:14
Take a hobby, like playing video games.
16
74695
2420
01:17
The experience largely explains the desire to do it.
17
77115
3503
01:20
Performing tasks that feel right in the moment—
18
80618
2794
01:23
or that you find a meaningful, interesting, or satisfying—
19
83538
3253
01:26
are driven by intrinsic motivation.
20
86791
2961
01:30
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand,
21
90419
2628
01:33
refers to pursuing a task as a means to an end.
22
93047
3670
01:37
While few would consider going to the dentist as an enjoyable activity,
23
97051
4171
01:41
you're often motivated by the outcome of having clean, healthy teeth.
24
101222
4087
01:45
Other examples of extrinsic motivation include completing a task
25
105434
4296
01:49
to receive some sort of reward, whether it's praise, power, or money.
26
109730
4046
01:54
Notably, these rewards tend to come later,
27
114026
3212
01:57
like receiving a bonus at the end of a quarter,
28
117238
2586
01:59
or winning a competition after months of training.
29
119824
2586
02:02
While extrinsic rewards, like getting paid,
30
122952
2461
02:05
may seem appealing,
31
125413
1626
02:07
their effectiveness can be surprisingly short-lived.
32
127039
3129
02:10
For example, a 2017 study found that those who were highly focused
33
130626
4129
02:14
on the outcomes of their New Year's resolutions—
34
134755
2837
02:17
or driven by extrinsic motivation—
35
137758
3212
02:21
weren't the most likely to stick to them.
36
141262
2294
02:24
What did predict persistence, however,
37
144182
2502
02:26
was how much a person enjoyed pursuing their goals.
38
146684
3921
02:30
In other words, you're more likely to maintain an exercise routine
39
150897
4254
02:35
if you take classes you enjoy,
40
155151
1835
02:37
rather than just those that build your biceps.
41
157069
3003
02:40
Years of psychology research have shown that high levels of intrinsic motivation—
42
160448
5797
02:46
for school, a job, or an exercise class—
43
166329
2794
02:49
are more likely to keep you engaged in the long run.
44
169123
3462
02:52
Day-to-day actions, though, are rarely either exclusively
45
172960
4213
02:57
intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.
46
177173
2919
03:00
Studying for a history exam, for example, can be intrinsically motivated
47
180301
4171
03:04
If you're curious about the culture of ancient Egypt.
48
184472
3211
03:07
But extrinsic motivators may also be at play,
49
187850
3587
03:11
as you aim to get a good grade
50
191646
2168
03:13
or feel pressure from family members to do well in school.
51
193814
3671
03:18
But having multiple motivators isn't always better.
52
198069
3795
03:22
One study of military cadets found that those who were driven
53
202531
3254
03:25
both by intrinsic motivators, like self-improvement,
54
205785
3545
03:29
and extrinsic motivators, like the outcome of getting a good job,
55
209413
4588
03:34
were overall less motivated than cadets driven by just one of these factors.
56
214126
6257
03:40
As a result, these cadets performed worse and were less likely to graduate.
57
220508
5005
03:45
Psychologists call this phenomenon the overjustification effect—
58
225846
4672
03:50
the idea that additional extrinsic motivators can actually muddy the waters
59
230851
4839
03:55
when you already have the intrinsic drive to do something.
60
235690
3753
03:59
But this is only a problem if you already find a task motivating.
61
239777
3921
04:03
When you're faced with an activity you find tedious or uninteresting,
62
243906
4171
04:08
adding extrinsic rewards can be beneficial.
63
248077
3128
04:11
In this way, extrinsic motivators can provide sufficient justification.
64
251289
5046
04:16
While you may never enjoy doing the laundry,
65
256877
2586
04:19
it may feel less daunting if you get praise from a loved one,
66
259463
4046
04:23
or even promise yourself that you'll watch your favorite TV show
67
263634
3420
04:27
when you're done folding.
68
267054
1293
04:29
Motivation is complicated.
69
269307
2460
04:32
And sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby,
70
272018
4170
04:36
finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult.
71
276230
4379
04:41
But there are things you can do to increase your drive,
72
281360
3545
04:44
even when it feels impossible.
73
284989
2377
04:47
Focus on building intrinsic motivation by making the task more fun in the moment.
74
287742
6840
04:54
Asking a friend to join you
75
294915
1752
04:56
or simply putting on your favorite playlist
76
296667
2419
04:59
can give you the boost to get started—
77
299211
2253
05:01
and stick with your goals for the long haul.
78
301464
3795
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7