Motivation resources

[Buck Edwards]

The talk is about self-motivation and how to inspire others to be self-motivated. The speaker, Scott Geller, argues that self-motivation comes from feeling competent, believing that your work is worthwhile, and having a sense of community.

Geller says that people are often motivated by external factors, such as rewards or punishments. But this type of motivation is not sustainable. To be truly self-motivated, people need to feel like they are capable of doing good work. They also need to believe that their work is meaningful and that it contributes to something larger than themselves. Finally, people need to feel connected to others and like they are part of a community.

Geller offers four key ingredients to self-motivation: competence, choice, consequences, and community.

Competence: People need to feel like they are good at what they do. This can be achieved through feedback, recognition, and opportunities to learn and grow.

Choice: People need to feel like they have some control over their work. This means giving them autonomy and allowing them to make decisions about how they will complete their tasks.

Consequences: People need to understand the consequences of their actions. This means both positive and negative consequences. When people see that their work is leading to positive outcomes, they are more likely to be motivated to continue.

Community: People need to feel like they are part of something larger than themselves. This can be a team, a company, or even a cause. When people feel connected to others, they are more likely to be motivated to work hard.

Geller ends his talk with a story about how he learned to play the drums. He says that his motivation came from a combination of all four of these factors: competence (he felt like he was getting better at playing), choice (he had a choice of whether or not to practice), consequences (his parents promised to buy him a new drum set if he kept practicing), and community (he felt connected to his teacher and the other members of the band).

 

Edited May 21 by Buck Edwards

[Buck Edwards]

Isn't this the same as negative motivation? 

This video is about the importance of having an internal locus of control.

The video starts with a study done in 1998 at Columbia University by a professor Claudia M Mueller. In the study, a group of fifth graders were given challenging puzzles to solve. Regardless of how well they did, all the students were told that they scored very well. Then half of the students were told that they did well because they were smart and gifted, while the other half were told that they did well because they worked hard.

The researchers then gave the students three more puzzles to work on: easy, medium, and extremely challenging. The students who were told they were smart spent most of their time on the easy puzzles and gave up easily on the challenging ones. They also reported not enjoying the experiment. On the other hand, the students who were told they worked hard spent more time on the challenging puzzles and reported enjoying the experiment more.

The video explains this by introducing the concept of locus of control. People with an internal locus of control believe that they have control over their lives and that their achievements are the result of their effort. People with an external locus of control believe that their achievements are due to external factors outside of their control.

The video argues that having an internal locus of control is key to staying motivated. The speaker gives an example from his own experience managing a door-to-door sales team. When new salespeople had a bad day, those who blamed external factors such as the weather or the neighborhood were less likely to last on the job.

The video concludes with advice on how to develop an internal locus of control. The speaker says the best way is to solve problems in your own life and then take credit for your accomplishments. For example, if you improve your sleep habits by making changes to your routine, you should recognize that it was your effort that led to the improvement. By attributing your achievements to your own actions, you will develop a stronger belief that you are in control of your destiny and this will lead to greater motivation.

 

Edited May 21 by Buck Edwards