15 Psychology-Backed Hacks to Supercharge Your Motivation
We all know how vital motivation is for achieving our goals, both in our personal lives and our careers. But staying motivated day in and day out is often easier said than done. When faced with stress, rejection, setbacks and challenges, even the most driven among us can struggle to keep our motivation firing on all cylinders.
The good news is, scientists who study motivation have uncovered a wealth of proven psychological strategies we can use to give our motivation a boost whenever we need it. By understanding a bit about the science of motivation and integrating research-backed techniques into our routines, we can keep our drive and positivity high even in the face of adversity.
Here are 15 of the most effective, psychology-backed hacks you can start using today to supercharge your motivation and accomplish your goals:
1. Tap Into Your Intrinsic Motivations
One of the most powerful sources of lasting motivation is intrinsic motivation – being driven to do something because you inherently enjoy it, not because of any external rewards or incentives. Psychologists have found that intrinsic motivation tends to be more powerful and sustainable than extrinsic motivation.
Take some time to reflect on what you truly love and find rewarding about your work or goals. What parts light you up and get you excited? Regularly reminding yourself of these intrinsic motivations can provide a strong, built-in source of drive. Consider writing them down somewhere you‘ll see often.
2. Connect to Your Deeper Purpose
In addition to intrinsic motivation, connecting to a deeper sense of purpose is one of the best ways to stay motivated over the long haul. Having a clear "why" – a meaningful reason behind what you‘re doing that‘s bigger than yourself – provides a consistent wellspring of motivation to draw from.
So get clear on how your work fits into your larger life vision and values. Who are you helping through your efforts? What kind of impact do you want to make? When you have a strong why, you‘ll have a reliable source of motivation to pull from whenever you need it.
3. Expect Obstacles and Rejection
One of the quickest ways to zap your motivation is to expect a seamless path to your goals. Inevitably, you will face a certain number of obstacles, setbacks and rejections along the way. That‘s completely normal and not a sign that you are failing.
Psychologists call this expectancy theory – we take action based on our expectations of the outcomes. So instead of being surprised by challenges, expect that you will need to overcome a certain number of speed bumps to reach any worthwhile goal. Normalize it in your mind. That way, when you hit a setback, it won‘t derail your motivation.
4. View Challenges as Opportunities
The world‘s most exceptional achievers tend to share a specific mindset: they view obstacles as opportunities to learn and improve, not as failures to avoid. Psychologists call this a growth mindset.
Whenever you encounter a challenge, rejection or mistake, try to reframe it as a lesson. What can you learn from this on how to improve? Viewing slip-ups as steps on the path to mastery – not signs that you‘re not good enough – keeps you motivated to continually progress.
5. Set Ambitious and Bite-Sized Goals
Setting clear goals is one of the cornerstones of staying motivated. But the types of goals you set makes a big difference. Aim too low and you won‘t be inspired to act; aim too high and your goals can feel overwhelming. The sweet spot is a combination of ambitious long-term goals and specific short-term goals.
Your larger, long-term goals provide an overarching vision to stay excited about over time. Your smaller, short-term process goals allow you to generate quick wins and see progress, which is very motivating. Set goals on both time horizons and you‘ll have clear milestones to work toward.
6. Depersonalize Rejection
As social creatures, we‘re wired to take rejection personally. But for the highly rejection-prone, like salespeople, taking every "no" to heart is a motivation killer.
The key is to depersonalize rejection as much as possible. Recognize that the vast majority of the time, rejection and negative responses have much more to do with the other person and their circumstances than with you. Don‘t let someone else‘s opinion interfere with your ability to enthusiastically take on the next opportunity. Disconnecting your ego from rejection is an essential skill.
7. Take Short Breaks to Refocus
When frustration or stress levels rise, one of the worst things you can do is try to bulldoze through it. You‘ll likely just become more agitated and fatigued. Psychologists call this arousal theory – our motivation depends on maintaining an optimal level of mental stimulation and agitation.
Whenever you feel your motivation beginning to flag, take it as a sign to take a brief break to reset. Go for a quick walk around the block, step outside for some fresh air, or pause for a few minutes of deep breathing. Giving yourself a moment to recenter allows you to return to the task refreshed and ready to make progress. Just be sure to keep your break short enough that it re-energizes you rather than derailing your momentum.
8. Visualize Your Success
A wealth of research in sports psychology has demonstrated that visualization – mentally rehearsing an optimal performance – can significantly enhance motivation and achievement. Try visualizing yourself achieving your goals in vivid detail. What does it look and feel like? Who is with you and how are you celebrating?
Visualization activates the same regions in your brain that fire when actually performing an activity. So mentally practicing success primes your brain to carry it out in real life and boosts your confidence in your ability to make it happen.
9. Flip the Script on Negative Self-Talk
We all have an inner critic – that voice in our heads that focuses on our flaws and shortcomings. And when we‘re working toward challenging goals, that negative self-talk can be especially loud. While you can‘t totally eliminate this mental chatter, you can consciously work to reframe it.
When you catch yourself in a negative thought pattern, pause and flip the script. Replace self-criticism with self-compassion and pessimism with optimism. Actively work to adopt more positive, supportive self-talk to keep your motivation high.
10. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences
The people we surround ourselves with can have a huge influence on our mindset and motivation. Are the people around you inspiring you to be your best, or dragging you down into complaint and stagnation? Negativity is contagious and can undermine even the most self-motivated among us.
Make an effort to spend time with positive, motivated people who believe in your potential and cheer on your success. Their optimism and encouragement will rub off on you and help bolster your motivation when you‘re feeling stuck.
11. Celebrate Your Progress
Psychologists have consistently found that celebrating small wins is one of the best ways to stay motivated for long-term goals. Pausing to acknowledge your achievements along the way – not just at the finish line – maintains a sense of progress and keeps motivation high.
Create a ritual or habit around commemorating small milestones and successes in a memorable way. Share them with supportive friends or colleagues, treat yourself to a reward, or make a note in your gratitude journal. Basking in the glow of your incremental progress is very motivating.
12. Focus on the Process
When working toward big goals, it‘s easy to get overly fixated on the end result and lose sight of the day-to-day process it takes to get there. But research has shown that focusing on the process – the actual daily work you are putting in – is more motivating than focusing only on the outcome.
Of course it‘s important to have a clear vision of the end goal. But on a daily basis, try to place your focus on showing up, putting in quality effort, and continuing to improve your skills. With consistent effort, the results will take care of themselves. And by enjoying the process, you tap into that intrinsic motivation.
13. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
To achieve anything extraordinary in life, you need to continually push yourself beyond your current comfort zone. Highly motivated people understand that some discomfort is not only inevitable but desirable for growth.
Begin to view that nervous feeling of stretching yourself as a sign that you‘re expanding your abilities. Embrace challenges as opportunities to progress to the next level. The more you push your boundaries, the more motivation you‘ll have to continue evolving.
14. Practice Self-Compassion
While a healthy push to achieve is important, it needs to be balanced with plenty of self-compassion. Beating yourself up or holding yourself to impossibly high standards is a recipe for burnout and decreased motivation.
Notice when you‘re being overly hard on yourself and remember that you‘re human. You don‘t have to be perfect to make great progress. Research has found that a high level of self-compassion is one of the key things that sets super high achievers apart from the rest. Be kind to yourself.
15. Don‘t Go It Alone
One of the best ways to stay accountable to your goals and maintain high motivation over the long-term is to enlist the support of others. Find an accountability partner, mastermind group or mentor to help you stay on track and inspired.
Knowing that someone else is counting on you to show up as your best self can be incredibly motivating. And having a supportive ally to celebrate your wins and troubleshoot challenges with is invaluable. We are social creatures and we can accomplish far more together than we ever could alone.
Staying motivated isn‘t about achieving a state of constant enthusiasm. It‘s about having proven tools and techniques to reconnect to your drive when you need it most. By understanding how motivation really works and consciously practicing research-backed strategies, you can learn to be your own best motivator. Here‘s to achieving your potential!
