This is just one family’s story. Am I naïve to think motivation science might help them cope?
I’m also thinking about small business owners faced with hard decisions about how to stay in business. Could applying motivation science help? Will a gig worker with no gig find the skill of motivation useful? Might manicurists, aestheticians, physical therapists, body workers, and hair stylists, and others who find themselves empty-handed, find value in motivation science? Can someone who lives alone and feels isolated find comfort in understanding how their motivational outlook affects their health and wellbeing?
|
|
Medical practitioners, research scientists, and pharmacologists protect your physical life. Perhaps this Motivation Checklist, based on empirical science, will bolster the quality of your mental, emotional, and spiritual life. One of the reasons a crisis is a crisis is because it threatens the three psychological needs required to thrive. Mastering your motivation enables you to create choice, connection, and competence—and rise above real and imagined threats posed by the Coronavirus.
Your Motivation Checklist
I create choice by recognizing that…
- I always have a choice.
- Doing nothing is a choice.
- Making a choice provides a sense of control over what appears uncontrollable.
- Instead of adopting a scarcity mentality (that induces me to hoard supplies), I choose a prosperity consciousness (that empowers me to leave something on the shelf for the next person in need).
- Instead of worrying about my financial situation, I choose to proactively manage my resources and relationships (because proactive behavior is proven to reduce stress and generate the positive energy needed to deal with a changing reality).
- Instead of being angry at what could have been, I choose to find ways to make the most of what is.
- Instead of capitulating to emotional hijacking and fear as wartime rhetoric is evoked to fight an unseen enemy, I choose to invoke peace and experience calm, empathy, and compassion.
- Instead of choosing to wallow in pity, I choose to have a momentary pity-party (maybe even shed a few tears) and then find ways to rise above the hardship.
|
|
I create connection by recognizing that…
- The Coronavirus is proof positive of our connection to one another.
- My values have never been so essential to the decisions I make.
- A noble purpose is more potent than power or status.
- I genuinely care about people and people genuinely care about me.
- I am authentic when I self-regulate and act in alignment with my deepest values.
- Social media can finally fulfill its promise of connecting us for the right reasons.
- There’s never been a better time to reach out to someone to demonstrate how much I care.
- Looking out for my own wellbeing doesn’t mean I’m selfish—it could mean I’m contributing to the welfare of others and contributing to the greater good.
|
|
I create competence by recognizing that…
- I have expertise, experience, and skills to help me thrive.
- I have expertise, experience, and skills to help others thrive.
- I have so much to learn.
- I have so much to teach—especially to my children.
- There’s never been a better time to read the books I’ve always longed to read; watch videos of masters doing what they do best (like Julia Child making a French omelet), or interview my parents about what they’ve learned throughout their life.
- I can solicit feedback about what I can do differently and better.
- Establishing a routine, keeping a schedule, and striving for some form of consistency, help me focus, monitor the progress I’m making on tasks and goals, and experience a greater sense of competence.
- When I notice and am grateful for what I learn and how I’m growing, I gain wisdom.
|
|
Remember, if you feel pressure, stress, sadness, guilt, or depression, as you navigate this challenging time, try asking yourself:
- What choices do I have?
- How can I make choices that deepen connection by aligning my actions to meaningful values, a noble purpose, and the welfare of others?
- How can I build competence by focusing on how I’m learning and growing?
Naïve or not, I hope mastering your motivation proves to be a useful skill not just for coping, but for thriving in a world turned upside down.
With gratitude,
Susan
|
|
We all start somewhere. To help shift your energy and make sustainable changes to your motivation, take the free What’s Your MO? survey. It takes less than 5 minutes, but the survey is a sophisticated diagnostic based on motivation science to help identify your motivational outlook for achieving a goal or resolving a situation.
After you take the survey and receive your results, feel free to email me and discuss what you learned!
|
|
|
|
