Why self-motivation matters?
Overview
In this page, self-motivation is discussed into parts and some tips provided to build self-motivation for musicians.
What Is Self-motivation?
Definition:
People are moved to act by very different types of factors, with highly varied experiences and consequences, although motivation is often treated as a singular construct (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Ryan, R., Deci, E, 2000, Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, American Psychologist, (1)55, 68-78. https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf
Understanding and developing your self-motivation can help you to take control of many other aspects of your life. Motivation is one of the three areas of personal skills that are integral to the concept of emotional intelligence.
Daniel Goleman indentified four elements that make up motivation:
Personal drive to achive, the desire to improve or to meet certain standards;
Commitment to personal or organisational goals;
Initiative, which he defined as 'readiness to act on opportunities'; and
Optimism, the ability to keep going and pursue goals in the face of setbacks, also known as resilience.
Goleman, D., 1998, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, p. 26, https://books.google.com/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=z2ivmBQa2X0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=working+with+emotional+intelligence&ots=tXbqfvAWIv&sig=6jsOCZX3mdojDR7mfILDKlkn5Rw#v=onepage&q=working%20with%20emotional%20intelligence&f=false
There are two main types of motivators: ‘intrinsic’ and ‘extrinsic’.
Intrinsic: To perform an action or task based on the expected or perceived satisfaction of performing the action or task. Intrinsic motivators include having fun, being interested and personal challenge.
Extrinsic: To perform an action or task in order to attain some sort of external reward, including money, power and good marks or grades.
Different people are motivated by different things and at different times in their lives. The same task may have more intrinsic motivators at certain times and more extrinsic motivators at others, and most tasks have a combination of the two types of motivation.
People have a tendency to work better when they love what they are doing. Self-motivation drives people to keep going even in the face of set-backs, to take up opportunities, and to show commitment to what they want to achieve.
Research shows that this is particularly important when we’re under stress. It’s much easier to cope with stress and long hours if we generally enjoy the work. Intrinsic motivators therefore plays a big part in self-motivation for most of us.
SkillsYouNeed, Self-Motivation, [Web log post],retrieved from https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/self-motivation.html
What is the difference between self-motivation and self-efficacy?
Perceived self‐efficacy is concerned with people's beliefs in their ability to influence events that affect their lives. This core belief is the foundation of human motivation, performance accomplishments, and emotional well‐being (Bandura, 1997, 2006).
From Zimmerman and Bandura's study (1992), students beliefs in their efficacy for self-regulated learning had impact on their perceived self-efficacy for academic achievement, which in turn influenced the academic goals and final academic achievement. To some extent, self-efficacy, belief people hold judging themselves on being able to do something or not, may change the self-motivation and even the achievements.
Tips of Improving Self-motivation
As Tony Robbins has said, “The one common denominator of all successful people is their hunger to push through their fears.”
In this following video, the self-motivation is defined in depth and the presenter incorporates his own drum learning experience to explain how self-motivation is built and rebuilt.
"If you get three questions' answers all "Yes", you are very well self-motivated.
The first question is "Can you do it?" --asking yourself "Do you believe that you can do it?"
The second question is "Will it work?"--asking yourself taking what education/training to achieve the ultimate goal.
The third question is "Is it worth it?"--asking yourself the consequences of what you want to do."
Learning more from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxpKhIbr0E
Here is another talk show and it offers the idea that how you motivate yourself when there is something you are terrified to do. Mel Robbins spreads her "5 seconds rule" to help people gain strategies pushing themselves face and deal with challenges in everyday life.
Learn more from her website:https://melrobbins.com/
There are many useful and interesting skills and tips provided by various resources, helping people work on shaping self-motivation and maintaining it.
The Skills You Need website lists six vital skills that form the foundation of self-motivation, and they are all skills that you can develop through sustained effort:
- Setting high but realistic goals (e.g., SMART goals);
- Taking the right level of risk;
- Constantly seeking feedback to figure out how to improve;
- Being committed to personal and/or organizational goals and going the extra mile to achieve them;
- Actively seeking out opportunities and seizing them when they occur;
- Being able to deal with setbacks and continue to pursue your goals despite obstacles (i.e., resilience).
Further, there are six things you can do to maintain your self-motivation:
- Continue learning and acquiring knowledge (i.e., develop a love of learning);
- Spend time with motivated, enthusiastic, and supportive people;
- Cultivate a positive mindset and build your optimism and resilience;
- Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and work on them;
- Avoid procrastination and work on your time management skills;
- Get help when you need it, and be willing to help others succeed (Skills You Need, n.d.).
Create an Imagined Future Self Activity
Spend a few minutes imagining what you and your life are like 2 years from now.
Either as a personal journal writing exercise or with someone you trust, answer the following questions about this "future you":
- What goals did you achieve?
- What important decisions have you made?
- Where will you studying, working, and living?
- What is your health like?
- What are your relationships like (friends, family, romantic)?
- What obstacles did you overcome or do you still need to overcome?