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

翻译人员: Liwen Huang 校对人员: Gia Hwang

You've always aspired to be a professional artist.

你一直渴望成为一名职业艺术家，

At last, this dream may become a reality,

最终，这个梦想可能会变成现实，

and you're creating a portfolio to submit to art programs.

且你正在创作一份作品集申请艺术课程。

But as the application deadline looms,

但随着申请截止日期的逼近，

you suddenly find yourself unmotivated, and avoiding the canvas altogether.

你突然发现自己动力全无，

根本不想碰画布。

Why does motivation seem so fickle?

为何动力看起来如此变化无常？

And what even is it in the first place?

而它究竟是什么呢？

Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus

心理学家将动力定义为

开启和保持某一特定行为的愿望或动力。

to initiate and maintain a particular behavior.

In other words, it's the energy that drives you to do something.

换言之，即驱使你做某事的力量。

And knowing the source of that drive is particularly important

要了解如何保持动力，

when it comes to understanding how to maintain it.

了解它的来源尤为重要。

These motivational forces generally fall into two broad categories:

这些动机力量通常分为两大类：

intrinsic and extrinsic.

内在的和外在的。

Intrinsic motivation is involved when you experience an activity

当体验一项活动本身就是目的时，

as an end in itself.

便涉及到内在动力。

Take a hobby, like playing video games.

以爱好为例，如玩电子游戏，

The experience largely explains the desire to do it.

体验本身大致就说明了此事的欲望来源。

Performing tasks that feel right in the moment—

执行当下觉得正确的任务，

or that you find a meaningful, interesting, or satisfying—

或者觉得此举有意义、有趣或令人满意，

are driven by intrinsic motivation.

这是由内在动力驱动的。

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand,

另一方面，外在动力

refers to pursuing a task as a means to an end.

是指完成某项任务作为达到目的的手段。

While few would consider going to the dentist as an enjoyable activity,

极少有人认为看牙医是愉快的活动，

you're often motivated by the outcome of having clean, healthy teeth.

但常为拥有干净、健康的牙齿去看牙医。

Other examples of extrinsic motivation include completing a task

外在动力的其他例子

包括完成任务以获得某种奖励，

to receive some sort of reward, whether it's praise, power, or money.

无论是赞美、权力还是金钱。

Notably, these rewards tend to come later,

值得注意的是，这类奖励往往迟一些，

like receiving a bonus at the end of a quarter,

如季末获得一笔奖金，

or winning a competition after months of training.

或者在数月训练后赢得一场比赛。

While extrinsic rewards, like getting paid,

诸如获得报酬之类的外在奖励

may seem appealing,

尽管可能看起来很有吸引力，

their effectiveness can be surprisingly short-lived.

但其效果可能出奇地短暂。

For example, a 2017 study found that those who were highly focused

例如，2017 年的一项研究发现，

那些高度关注新年计划结果的人，

on the outcomes of their New Year's resolutions—

or driven by extrinsic motivation—

即受外在动力驱动的人，

weren't the most likely to stick to them.

反而不是最有可能坚持计划的。

What did predict persistence, however,

was how much a person enjoyed pursuing their goals.

In other words, you're more likely to maintain an exercise routine

换句话说，如果上自己喜欢的锻炼课程，

if you take classes you enjoy,

你更有可能会保持锻炼习惯，

rather than just those that build your biceps.

而非仅仅上重塑肱二头肌的课程。

Years of psychology research have shown that high levels of intrinsic motivation—

多年的心理学研究表明，

上学、工作或上健身课的高度内在动力

for school, a job, or an exercise class—

are more likely to keep you engaged in the long run.

更有可能让你坚持到最后。

Day-to-day actions, though, are rarely either exclusively

而日常行为

很少完全出于内在或外在动机。

intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.

Studying for a history exam, for example, can be intrinsically motivated

以准备历史考试为例，

如果你对古埃及文化好奇，即内在驱动；

If you're curious about the culture of ancient Egypt.

But extrinsic motivators may also be at play,

但当你想取得好成绩

as you aim to get a good grade

或因家人压力而想表现优异时，

or feel pressure from family members to do well in school.

外在动力可能也在起作用。

But having multiple motivators isn't always better.

但拥有多个动力并非总是更好。

One study of military cadets found that those who were driven

一项对军校学员的研究发现，

both by intrinsic motivators, like self-improvement,

那些同时被类似自我提高的内在动力

and extrinsic motivators, like the outcome of getting a good job,

和为找好工作的外在动力驱动的学员，

were overall less motivated than cadets driven by just one of these factors.

总体而言，其积极性不及 仅被其中一个因素驱动的学员。

As a result, these cadets performed worse and were less likely to graduate.

结果，这些学员的表现更差，

且不太可能毕业。

Psychologists call this phenomenon the overjustification effect—

心理学家称这种现象为过度理由效应，

the idea that additional extrinsic motivators can actually muddy the waters

即当你已经有了做某事的内在动力时，

when you already have the intrinsic drive to do something.

额外的外在动力实际上会搅乱现状。

But this is only a problem if you already find a task motivating.

但只有当你已经觉得 一项任务有趣时，这才是问题。

When you're faced with an activity you find tedious or uninteresting,

当面对一项你觉得乏味或无趣的活动时，

adding extrinsic rewards can be beneficial.

增加外部奖励是有益的，

In this way, extrinsic motivators can provide sufficient justification.

这样，外在动力可以提供充足的理由。

While you may never enjoy doing the laundry,

你可能从不喜欢洗衣服，

it may feel less daunting if you get praise from a loved one,

但如果得到亲人称赞，

or even promise yourself that you'll watch your favorite TV show

或者甚至答应自己叠好衣服 就看喜欢的电视节目，

when you're done folding.

就会觉得这事也没多难。

Motivation is complicated.

动机是复杂的，

And sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby,

有时，无论你对一个目标或爱好多狂热，

finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult.

找到真正去做的动机则很难。

But there are things you can do to increase your drive,

但即使认为绝不可能做某事时，

even when it feels impossible.

也总有办法提升动力。

Focus on building intrinsic motivation by making the task more fun in the moment.

专注于眼下让任务变得更有趣 以增强内在动力，

Asking a friend to join you

邀请朋友一起，

or simply putting on your favorite playlist

或者打开你最喜欢的音乐列表，

can give you the boost to get started—

都能给你开始的推动力，

and stick with your goals for the long haul.

并将目标坚持到底。