People perform best under pure, undiluted autonomy. People are more motivated when they feel that they have a purpose. When people are motivated because they have a feeling of purpose, they work better and are much more dedicated.
At first, hearing this was surprising to me. I thought that people worked better when offered a reward, no matter what the task. It certainly seems that way. But when I stopped to think about it, I realized that I actually work harder when I am personally motivated to do something. There have been times when I have worked extremely hard to accomplish something because I was personally dedicated to the project, and wanted to feel the satisfaction felt when one does a job well done. For instance (and I know this a little different) play. At first I wanted to do well because we are expected to put on a performance. But I became much more dedicated after I realized that my motivation for joining the play was because I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish many things and want to know that I can do a good job. I don't even care about how well it goes, as long as I feel I am succeeding in my role. Yes, once I was purposefully motivated, my performance, I think, improved.
Have you ever had this happen? Being motivated to do something for your own reasons, and not because of the reward? Have you ever not been motivated even when money was involved?
Posts
I think this is very true. The reason that it seems to be that some people are more motivated when the task requires more work is because that person is probably self-motivated to do the difficult task. For me, it is a lot easier to do simpler tasks because I tend to be lazy, but I find it easier when I am motivated. As an example, we have been working on a research paper in english, and research papers are not the most exciting, but I really liked the topic I chose which motivated me to get my work done faster. I don't know if babysitting is the same situation because for me, it usually requires me to sit at my sister's house while her kids sleep, but sometimes I am not motivated to babysit, even when there is money invloved, because I would rather hang out with friends. In all, it seems to be that self-motivation is the key to success!
ReplyDeleteZahava,
ReplyDeleteI loved this post especially your comment about the play because I feel the same way. Last year, I was never really motivated to study for my AP US History class because I didn't really enjoy the class the so much and I felt like nothing related to me. However, this year in AP Psychology, I am motivated to learn more, take notes, and study because I am genuinely interested in the class. This is not to say that I look forward to studying, but I care more about getting a good grade because it actually means something to me. Also, people always ask me why I am a madricha for BYSY every shabbos if I don't even get paid. Of course it would be nice to get paid, but that is not why I am doing it. Although sometimes it is hard, I love being there with the kids and having them look up to me. And this is what motivates me every week to get to mincha on time to sit with the kids!