Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation

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Intrinsic motivation is a matter of degree,” Fishbach said. “It’s a matter of how much the thing feels right as you do it. Then we can allow goals that otherwise don’t seem intrinsic, like exercising or studying, to become intrinsically motivating.” Dacă vrei să schimbi ceva în viața ta primul lucru pe care trebuie să îl faci este să evaluezi situația actuală iar daca o schimbare este necesară, trebuie sa creezi circumstanțele pentru a duce la schimbarea dorită.

One, it boosts your confidence in believing that you can achieve your goal. You’ve made it this far, right!?Fishbach also suggests that incentives will undermine children's intrinsic motivation more so than adults', because children are still figuring out which things they're doing because they enjoy them versus because of some other incentive. That seems plausible enough. When you set a goal for yourself – especially if it’s one you don’t necessarily think is super fun to begin with, like work or exercise or vacuuming – you need to make sure you can find some fun aspect in it. Because if you’re having fun, then you’re intrinsically motivated, which in turn leads to success. There are, of course, exceptions. Like, what if you’ve been procrastinating on breaking up your relationship? It’s hard to find the fun in that. But keep in mind how it may make you feel in the long run. Maybe you’ll feel freer, maybe you’ll stop hurting yourself or your partner. So, in situations where it’s hard to find joy in a task, just remember why you want to do something and associate the positive outcomes with it in your mind.

Dr. Fishbach has received several international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology's Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award, and in 2006, she received the Provost's Teaching Award from the University of Chicago.Coming up with the goal is the easy part. The hard part comes with putting the goal into action and sustaining motivation during the slow or hard parts. To get over the agonizing middle when most goals fall flat, the author recommends these strategies: Below, Ayelet shares 5 key insights from her new book, Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Listen to the audio version—read by Ayelet herself—in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Set a goal, not a means to a goal. This type of approach doesn’t only apply to summiting a mountaintop. Each year over one hundred CEO’s in the S&P 1000 retire after reaching what can feel like a pinnacle in their career, leaving them feeling unprepared for the next phase. Maybe you’ve also pulled yourself through a major life change before, like ending an unhealthy relationship or switching careers. All of these are things that need to get done, even when motivating yourself to do them can be tough.

One last strategy to stay motivated even when you’re failing is this: give advice. Even if you don’t think you’re qualified to dole out tips regarding something you haven’t mastered yet – for example, controlling your temper or saving money. But when you give advice, you’re tapping into what you’ve learned to do (or not to do) when trying to reach your goal. And when you dish out advice, you may be reminded of just how knowledgeable you actually are. Use – and help – those around you to achieve personal and shared goals. People are most enthusiastic about working toward a goal at the beginning and end of pursuing it—when they're energized by the newness and excitement of the goal, and when they're finally close to achievement. In between is the dangerous long middle. Motivation lags; you can see you've accomplished some, but not enough; there's still so much to do to reach the goal…How do I love this book? Let me count the ways. First, its author. I don't know anyone, scientist or otherwise, who knows more than Ayelet Fishbach about the psychology of goals. Second, its practicality. Like anyone, I have dreams. Every chapter taught me about myself and how I could better frame my goals to make my dreams a reality. Third, the writing: clear, to-the-point and yet warm, intimate, and winningly honest. The list goes on but the point is that truly, I love this book and know you will, too.”

P40 “According to the dilution principle,” the more goals, including incentives, a single activity serves, the more weakly we associate the activity with our central goal and the less instrumental the activity seems for this goal.” Second, keep your goals abstract. Be careful not to be too vague, though. For example, “Improve my mental health” is better than “be happy” because it points you toward your next step: in this case, perhaps, starting therapy. When we find a path to a goal that is fun or interesting, we’re excited about doing it and have a better chance at success.” ask if you can define your goals in terms of approaching a state of mental comfort instead of avoiding discomfort ask yourself why you are committed and confident in your goal; grow your abilities, rather than proving themThere are many problems with this book. The short review is that if you’d like a long lecture from a dishonest, uncreative, Liberal, Jewish-Puritan, this is the book for you. Why do we have so much trouble reaching some of our goals? Why do we make New Year's Resolutions about losing weight, making more money, finding new people, and all sorts of other things that we think will make our lives better? These resolutions come from an inner voice that we need to listen to and act upon. But by February, many of us give up on them. Attaining substantial goals is hard, and the bigger they are, the more they intimidate us. A refreshing read and reminder of ways to get things done. Start with motivational methods and incorporate adequate support. “Trying to stay motivated and make serious progress in whatever you’re trying to achieve in life can sometimes feel like an impossible task. But it doesn’t have to be. There’s a simple fix – and it just so happens to be in your control. It all starts with changing your circumstances. Most importantly, you need to define your goals. You need to pay attention to maintaining momentum, stay focused when you’ve got a billion other things on your plate and get your friends and family involved. And when you make your behavior and environment work for rather than against you, your goal of getting that raise, or that strong healthy body, or that tax return form sorted, or that new language learned, will be yours in no time! Finding the fun path takes several forms. You might watch TV while exercising, or find an exercising activity that is fun in itself. Maybe instead of hopping on an exercise bike, you could play frisbee with friends—or you could just pay attention to the fun that exists in exercising. 3. Broad decision frame.