Want to increase your motivation to pursue goals? Target two factors which influence it

In my last article, I indicated that there are two primary factors which fuel motivation to work toward a goal: (1) having the desire to achieve the goal because of anticipated rewards; and (2) having the confidence that you can succeed in achieving the goal.

In this article, I will provide ideas on how to target both these factors so that you can be successful in pursuing goals.

How to use desire to increase motivation

Motivation to pursue a goal will be higher the greater your desire is to achieve the goal. In turn, desire will be greater if you have more anticipated rewards or benefits from achieving the goal. For example, someone will be more motivated to do the hard work of addressing a substance use issue like drugs or alcohol if they anticipate tangible rewards or benefits such as better relationships, better career prospects, financial success, better health and longevity, and feeling better about oneself.

A starting point in using desire to increase motivation to pursue a goal is to make a list of the rewards or benefits you would expect to receive were you to achieve your goal. Next, rate how important each of these benefits are to you on a scale of 1 to 10.

If you have listed several anticipated benefits and at least some of these have importance ratings of 9 or 10, then you can move on to the next step in using desire to increase motivation. On the other hand, if your list of anticipated rewards for achieving your goal is very short and the benefits you listed are not very high in importance, then you likely need to do further work on identifying important rewards or benefits. Your motivation to exert the effort necessary to pursue your goal will be much greater if you have important rewards to look forward to from achieving your goal.

If you were able to list several anticipated benefits from achieving your goal and at least some of these have high importance ratings, your next step in using desire to influence motivation is to make these anticipated rewards ‘top of mind’. Having those anticipated rewards in your ongoing awareness will result in their having a greater influence on your motivation to take steps toward your goal.

For example, you will have greater motivation to refrain from using a substance like drugs or alcohol when you have urges to use if you are thinking about the benefits of doing so in such situations. There are straightforward techniques to increase your awareness of the benefits in these situations. One technique entails reading your list of anticipated benefits twice a day to remind you of them. A second technique is to look at your list of anticipated benefits in situations where you have urges to use. This will increase your awareness of the anticipated benefits in the moment. In turn, it will increase your motivation to stay on track and make the right decisions in these situations.

How to use confidence to increase motivation

Having confidence that you can succeed has a multitude of effects which contribute to greater motivation in pursuing a goal. It puts you in a better mood while pursuing your goal, it leads you to put in more effort toward the goal, it makes you more likely to set challenging sub-goals which are conducive to making progress toward your ultimate goal, and it makes it easier to rebound from adversity and temporary setbacks which you will often encounter when pursuing a goal.

Skills to raise self-confidence to increase your motivation include:

(1)    Remind yourself of your successes in pursuing the goal—For example, someone who is addressing their substance use issue can remind themselves of times when they ‘rode out’ urges to use the substance, instances in which they stuck to their plan not to use in an environment in which they have previously used, and their successes in finding other ways to obtain the rewards which they had previously obtained through using the substance.

(2)    Remind yourself of your positive qualities which will help you to achieve your goal—For example, you might remind yourself of your conscientiousness, your perseverance, your intelligence and your resilience.

(3)    Learn and practice skills which will help you succeed—Your self-confidence in pursuing your goal will increase as you learn and practice skills to help you make progress toward your goal. A coach, teacher, therapist or mentor can often be helpful in guiding you toward the successful application of these skills.

(4)    Discuss your goal with people who will help your self-confidence—Helping you acquire and practice the right skills is only one way that coaches, teachers, therapists and mentors can facilitate your having high self-confidence. They can also give your self-confidence a boost by reminding you of your successes, your positive qualities and your skill set.  This is especially helpful when you have had a recent setback or adversity regarding your goal. Relationship partners, family members, friends and co-workers are also potentially among those with whom you may wish to discuss your goal if they are good are good for your self-confidence.

(5)    Assess your progress in a manner which helps your self-confidence—Too many people assess their progress toward goals in a manner which undermines their self-confidence and their motivation. They do so by not giving enough attention to their successes and beating themselves up when they are not successful.  A better approach is to assess success by giving equal attention to successes and slip-ups while approaching slip-ups in a manner which can boost your self-confidence. For example, someone who stuck to their plan of not drinking alcohol on most occasions during the week but failed to stick to their plan on one day would first benefit by taking credit for the successes they had on all but one day. They would benefit further by taking a learning approach to the time when they slipped up. I would first invite the person to note the positive things they did in the situation despite the slip-up. Then I would help them identify things they could improve on to prevent them from slipping up in similar circumstances in the future.

(6)    Have a plan to deal with adversity effectively—Your self-confidence in pursuing a goal will increase if you are ready to deal with challenges you may encounter. Doing so will allow you to deal with these challenges effectively and continue the pursuit of your goal instead of being set back because you are not ready for them.

You may find it helpful to work with a coach, teacher, therapist or mentor to help you implement the steps discussed in this article.

May you target both the desire and confidence factors as you pursue your goals,

-Dr. Pat