Isn’t it fascinating to think that right this very moment we all have thoughts and ideas that we would like to implement, yet we haven’t taken any measurable steps toward putting them into action?
Maybe you are thinking about starting to work out again, improving your resume, calling an old friend, or starting a new project around the house…but that’s all you’re doing, thinking about it. Why is it that some people seem to immediately find the motivation needed to take action, while others spend days, weeks, months, and even years before finally doing something (if they do anything at all)?
Sure, the easy answer without much thought is to simply say that people who don’t put thoughts into action are just lazy, but the truth is more complex than that. From my clinical experiences, when people struggle to convert thoughts into behaviors the following factors usually enter into the equation:
- Fear of failure. For many people, the thought of not being successful at something prompts them to simply not even try. In theory, by not trying, you can’t fail, and therefore you suspend the possibility of developing more self-doubt and providing any evidence to others that you are inadequate. Delving deeper, one reason this fear develops is due to dichotomous thinking, meaning the individual has set up a cognitive process where you are either “right” or “wrong,” rather than gauging a level of success by any progress made at all. When the “grey area” is validated and viewed as being a necessary part of the learning curve, the fear of failure usually subsides and provides people more confidence and hope to “take a chance.”
- The “inspiration – desperation” trigger. Interestingly, as we go about our lives we make decision after decision whether we are inspired or desperate for change. What this translates to is that short of these conditions, we usually don’t work hard to make change or take action. Think about it — if you “kinda” want to do something you usually don’t, but when you are truly inspired or desperate to the point of being frightened if you don’t change, you almost always put your thoughts into some kind of action. Sometimes inspiration comes about by seeing a friend accomplish something, and desperation can evolve from signs of deteriorating health (i.e. gaining weight) that triggers an action (i.e. starting a new diet and beginning to exercise).
- Intrinsic & extrinsic motivation. Are you motivated for your own self-happiness and fulfillment, or do you take action because of tangible rewards, like money? In reality, we all do some things for self-interest, and some things out of necessity. It’s also interesting to note that neither type of motivation is better than the other, as we have all witnessed individuals do incredible things in life for an internal reason or cause, and similarly, some folks will do just about anything for money. The challenge is when you are not intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, yet are being pushed to do something or make changes that you haven’t internalized as important enough to take serious action toward — in these examples it becomes extremely difficult to find the motivation to take action as there is no real force to prompt the change.
While there isn’t a cookbook-recipe for improving human motivation, the points above should help you to think about why you have taken action on some ideas, while letting other potentially great ideas bounce around your head indefinitely.
www.drstankovich.com
