Are you finding it difficult to make changes in your life? Maybe you feel like you’re getting in your own way or that something is holding you back. As an experienced Coaching Psychologist, I work with many clients who describe wanting to make changes in their life and at the same time, find it difficult to take the steps needed for change.Understanding your motivation or readiness for change, may help to convert the desire for change into action.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is a complex emotion which guides us to initiate and maintain goal-directed behaviours. It’s what drives us to act, whether it’s eating when we’re hungry or starting a complex project to achieve a career goal. Motivation isn’t a simple on/off switch; it’s an intricate emotion influenced by a variety of factors, including our thoughts. In this post, I share some frameworks to help you better understand motivation; and tips which may help to boost your motivation.
The Stages of Change
The Stages of Change model (also known as the transtheoretical model of change) can be a helpful framework for understanding your own readiness for change. While the model is presented below in a linear fashion, you may not move through your own change journey in a linear way. It’s common to revert to earlier stages or feel like you’re operating from two stages at once. This model identifies seven stages that people may experience when making a change.
- Precontemplation: In this stage, you’re not thinking about making a change. You may not be aware there is a problem.
- Contemplation: You’re starting to think about making a change, but you’re not yet ready to take action.
- Preparation: You’re getting ready to take action towards change.
- Action: You’re actively working on making the change.
- Maintenance: You’ve made the change and are working to embed it in your life.
- Relapse: You’ve experienced a setback and revert to an earlier stage.
- Exit: You’ve successfully embedded the change in your life and now, it’s your new norm.
Understanding which stage of change you’re at, can help to understand your readiness to act. Those who are simply thinking about change, may not yet be ready to take action towards change. Being clear about your own readiness for change, may help to provide some clarity about what’s holding you back.
The Dynamics of Motivation: The Platform Metaphor
I regularly work with people who are stuck at the contemplation or preparation stages of change. They may find it challenging to move to the action stage of change. To better understand why, it can be helpful to visualise it as a journey from where you are now (Platform A) to where you want to be (Platform B). Several factors can influence our motivation to move from Platform A to Platform B. Below are three key concepts that can help us to understand ways to boost our motivation.
- The Burning Platform: This refers to the costs of inaction or the costs of not changing. Imagine that Platform A is on fire. This helps to create a sense of urgency or the need to escape a negative situation. If the costs of staying on Platform A become too high, it can create a powerful push to change.
- The Burning Ambition: This is the motivation that pulls you towards a desired future. Imagine that Platform B suddenly appears more appealing compared with Platform A. The appeal of Platform B can be fueled by having a compelling vision and aligning the change with your values. When you have a strong sense of what you want to achieve and why, your motivation to move towards Platform B may increase.
- Process Goals: You can think about process goals as being like the system or framework for achieving your goals. They are the things you will do day to day, week to week which contribute to the outcome you are working towards. Process goals detail how you will achieve your desired end state. Having clear goals that you are working towards and a plan about how you will get there may help to increase your readiness for change.
Understanding these three concepts may help to boost your motivation and may help you to shift into a more active stage of change.
Psychological Barriers to Motivation
It’s important to acknowledge that psychological barriers can work to keep us stuck. When working towards change or doing something new for the first time, it’s common to experience discomfort. For some, this discomfort can create barriers which get in the way of progressing change. Some common psychological barriers include:
- Fear of failure
- Perfectionism
- Imposter syndrome
- Low confidence
These are fear based barriers and left unchecked may work against us when we’re attempting to make change. When encountering these barriers, our mindset (the thoughts we have) can impact our motivation.
Mindset
Your mindset is your way of thinking. It’s the collection of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions you have about yourself and the world around you. Your mindset influences your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and it can significantly impact your motivation. Adopting a growth mindset may help to counteract the psychological barriers mentioned above and to reach your full potential. You can practice adopting a growth mindset by:
- Start small: appreciating that from small incremental changes, big changes can happen.
- Embrace challenges: seeing them as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Persist in the face of setbacks: viewing them as temporary and as learning opportunities.
- Focus on effort: shifting your attention to the process and strategies used, rather than the outcome.
- Normalise discomfort: understanding that it is a normal and necessary part of the change journey.
- Be patient: trusting the process of learning and growth as one that takes time, effort, and persistence.
Master Your Thoughts
Your thoughts are incredibly powerful. They can either help you achieve your goals or sabotage your efforts. If you want to master your mindset, it may be helpful to learn ways to manage your thoughts. Below are just a few ways people learn to manage their thoughts.
- Identify your negative thoughts: Pay attention to your self-talk and identify any negative or limiting beliefs. You may find it helpful to write them down.
- Reframe your thoughts: Practice replacing negative thoughts with thoughts which are more balanced and realistic.
- Notice and name negative thoughts: Noticing your thoughts may help you to gain distance from them. One way you can do this is to say your thoughts out loud by adding “I’m having the thought…” to the start of each thought.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to your experience without judgment. Being more aware of your thoughts may help to reduce the impact they have on you.
Take the next step
Motivation is a complex and multifaceted emotion. Understanding some of the factors which influence motivation, adopting a growth mindset, and mastering your thoughts, may help to boost motivation and achieve your full potential.
Remember to start small. What is one step you can take today to boost your motivation? Reflect on the information shared in this post and choose one which may be helpful. You don’t have to embark on your change journey alone. Working with a Coaching Psychologist can help you to better understand individual barriers and achieve your full potential. If you need support, don’t hesitate to reach out and book an appointment.
Disclaimer – this blog is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice. The information contained in this post may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support.
