Am I Motivating Myself or Simply Pushing Myself?

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This bracelet inscribed “Maintain Going” was initially meant to encourage me as a result of final 12 months was a tricky 12 months with some severe medical challenges that haven’t wholly been resolved but. Moreover, I used to be challenged by a brand new job which was my first place in a medical supervisor function. Don’t get me fallacious: I really like my job and I really like being a supervisor. It’s taken a circuitous path to get right here, just a little longer than lots of people, however I’m grateful to my supervisor for taking an opportunity on me and I hope she is happy with my efficiency. Admittedly, I’ve additionally made some errors to which I’ve owned up. I’ve come a great distance from my strict perfectionistic mindset, during which something lower than no errors equals full failure. The power to hang around, even for a short while, within the gray zone is a monumental achievement for me. This was a difficulty that my former psychiatrist and therapist, Dr. Lev, and I labored on extensively and now, confronted with a related state of affairs, I’m seeing the outcomes.

This week, which was a brief one as a result of New 12 months’s Day, I had a jam-packed schedule as I had rescheduled shoppers from Monday by means of the remainder of the week. Among the days have been lengthy as properly, with 7 pm appointments. There have been instances I used to be exhausted and I used the bracelet’s inscription extra as a reminder to “push by means of,” relatively than as motivation to beat what had been a tough earlier 12 months.

How can I forestall this miscommunication to myself sooner or later once I look at my bracelet? The unlucky information is that my schedule is my schedule and I’m sleep-deprived. I believe there’s a method I can activate my mind to consider final 12 months’s challenges and the motivation to have a greater 12 months multi function fast second.

In her submit, “Your Motivational Combine: What Retains You Going?” Ruth Stitt states that “understanding your motivational combine helps you construct in rewards that may maintain you going even when it is laborious.” She continues, “Intrinsic motivation comes from inside, bringing a way of non-public satisfaction.”

I’m nearly sure I’ve an intrinsic motivation model. My motivation to jot down is one type of intrinsic motivation as a result of it brings me nice private satisfaction. My work as a therapist is a type of blended motivation. Stitt defines extrinsic motivation as “exterior, exemplified by financial reward or reward from others, or energy over others.” I’d be mendacity if I stated my paycheck wasn’t a part of my motivation for this job. Nonetheless, a superb a part of my motivation is intrinsic, from the satisfaction I get from working with shoppers and watching their lives enhance.

One research discovered that “motivation is highest and studying is most effective when duties are made simply barely tougher than will be matched by the person’s present capacity.” In different phrases, to proceed to be motivated we should always proceed to problem ourselves by taking over tasks which are barely tougher than those we’re presently engaged in.

So I simply discovered the important thing to activating myself once I look at my new bracelet: “Maintain Going,” for me, means to me to proceed to problem myself on the subsequent stage.

Thanks for studying.