How do you build more intrinsic motivation into your life? Researchers have identified several ingredients you need three key ingredients to build intrinsic motivation.
The first is self-efficacy, trusting that you have the choice and the freedom to act however you want to. Of course, you need to be aware of your current motivational state, but researchers discovered that equally important is how confident you feel in your ability to change it.
The second one is curiosity. Neuroimaging studies suggest that intrinsic motivation and curiosity share the same dopaminergic systems. It’s much easier to feel motivated when you find a question interesting or when you notice an information gap you want to fill.
neuroimaging studies have revealed that self-efficacy and curiosity are not only important ingredients for self-motivation but are also interconnected in the brain. A study found that the strength of activation of the “curiosity brain network” mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and curiosity.
Lastly, you need a feeling of increased competence—believing that the task will teach you something new and make you more knowledgeable and more efficient. This sense of growth and mastery keeps you motivated to continue pursuing the task even in the face of setbacks.
A Toolkit for Self-Motivation
By making small but meaningful changes, you’ll set the stage for your motivation to emerge. I call those simple strategies the 3 Ms of Self-Motivation.
Manage your mood. It will be much harder to feel self-motivated if you are in a bad mood. Instead of brute-forcing your way to complete a task, take a little break to regulate your nervous system and cultivate a sense of calm. This could be through meditation, treating yourself to a nice, healthy meal, or having an interesting conversation break with a peer.
Measure your progress. This can be as simple as starting a spreadsheet where you count the number of words you have written, the number of days you have coded, or the number of times you went to the gym. Creating a streak can be extremely self-motivating as you won’t want to break it. As a fun bonus, generating graphs can also make your progress easier to visualize—see the GitHub contribution graph as an example.
Make it public. This is one of the most efficient ways to stay motivated over the long run. Working on a project with intrinsic motivation and adding the extrinsic motivation of a public commitment is a powerful combo. But do not only announce your project: make a pact to share regular updates, whether it’s with your colleagues or on social media.
Is publicly sharing your goals good? What does dr k say about it?
- be careful who you share your goals with
- if people praise you for trying to do something, it’ll just be a reward for not doing anything, just talking about it
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UikFbVuS5c