Motivation

This tip begins a series relating to the issue of motivation, whether you are interested in motivating yourself or someone else (for instance, your child). Motivation is an often-misunderstood concept. There are a number of misconceptions held by people that seem sensible but are not borne out by research. Today, I'll list the six most common misconceptions; subsequent tips will provide more detail about each one.

Common Misconceptions

 1.  Motivation is a function of "rah-rah."  That is, if you wish to motivate someone else, you should be over-the-top encouraging and provide a lot of praise and positives--not true. 

2.  Motivation is a matter of carrots-and-sticks.  A common mistaken notion is that people respond to rewards and punishments. While this can sometimes be motivating, most often it is not.

3.  Conventional wisdom has the relationship between motivation and performance backwards.   Most people believe that they must motivate themselves to perform.  Actually, the reverse is true.

4.  Motivation is a personal trait or individual characteristic.   Research is demonstrating that this is not the case.

5.  Motivation is actually a function of relationship.   Thus the question is not "Am I motivated?" but "Do I find myself in a motivating relationship?"

6.  One person never motivates another.  But one person can help another discover his or her own motivation.

Keep your eye on this space to read about each of these six misconceptions in more detail.  New Behavior Tips appear twice a month.