‘Keeping yourself and others motivated and energised to face the current challenges — A psychologically informed approach…’
14.08.2020: When reflecting for this week’s Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) blog for the UK national homeless charity Centrepoint, it has been hard to think about anything other than the weather! All across the country, we have been experiencing a prolonged heat wave and temperatures regularly hitting over 30 degrees, which has made remaining focused or motivated to undertake anything, let alone work challenging! The lack of air conditioning in most of our homes and supported accommodation services highlights that we are not a country set up for prolonged high temperatures, (rather perhaps a more rainy climate), and consequently it can be hard to remain energised in this heat, which is draining and exhausting. It has therefore been a relief to be able to escape the very intense heat of London for a few days at the weekend to visit family on the South Coast, and have a swim in the sea to cool off! Consequently, this week I have been thinking more about the concept of motivation and how to remain energised when our circumstances are less than ideal, whether this is because of the weather or the prolonged nature of a situation that is challenging (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic).
As a PIE team, recent events have resulted in us changing our plans for delivery this year, and at times therefore, it can be hard to remain energised and motivated as we adapt our psychological practice to fit the current circumstances. For example, postponing our face-to-face staff PIE training has been disappointing, particularly when we received such positive feedback from staff about the training sessions we were able to facilitate prior to the UK lock-down. In addition, offering remote reflective practice spaces for staff is not ideal, and it is understandable that staff might struggle to be motivated to engage in sessions particularly when they have many completing demands on their time or are dealing with emergencies or responding to sudden crises. Sometimes this has been frustrating as I passionately believe in psychological approaches and their benefit for both our staff and young people, but feel somewhat thwarted in my attempts to deliver these to the standard I would like. It can therefore be a struggle to remain energised and passionate about PIE, as where I want to ‘get to’ can feel so far away in the future with so many current barriers in place. And I imagine this demotivation or lack of energy are ‘normal’ feelings shared by many others for both personal and professional issues at times, not just within our organisation but within society as a whole, especially right now in this weather and in our current circumstances.
So how can we remain energised and motivated? What do psychological theories or research suggest influences our motivation or can be helpful to ‘keep going’ when it can feel quite difficult? The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘Motivation’ as ‘a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way’ or put another way, our self-motivation is the force that drives us to do things. The concept of motivation can also be further defined or divided into different types. Specifically, we can have ‘intrinsic motivation’ (i.e. the internal reasons we might have to do something, such as avoiding unpleasant emotions such as shame or guilt or being interested, passionate or curious) and/or ‘extrinsic motivation’ (i.e. the external pressures that bare upon us and make us act, such as other peoples encouragement or the receipt of a reward, such as power or money). Of note, you often need a mixture of both to be motivated to undertake a task, although actually ‘intrinsic motivation’ can be the most significant (e.g. McGillivray et al, 2015). For example, many of our staff working in our ‘frontline’ services often report that the pay for their role is certainly not the main reason for their dedication; rather it is their passion and interest in helping homeless young people that sustains them. Moreover, introducing external ‘competition’ to increase motivation actually has little effect (Murayama & Elliot, 2012), as the desire to ‘win’ can be mitigated by the stress of competing against others.
As psychologists have noted for almost 100 years (e.g. Behaviourism; Skinner), the behaviour of human beings is also strongly motivated by the consequences of that behaviour. Put another way, if we want to increase the chance of a behaviour or action occurring in the future, the consequences of it need to either be positively reinforcing (i.e. the addition of a reward or pleasant stimulus) or negatively reinforcing (i.e. the removal of an unpleasant stimulus). Of note, punishment alone rarely has any impact on subsequent behaviour. Neuropsychological studies (e.g. Murayama & Kitagami, 2014) have also shown that ‘rewards’ or reinforcement are key in motivation because of the specific impact of our brain’s reward system on other parts of our brain that control memory, physiological functioning and decision making.
As a result, our motivation is inextricably linked with many other aspects of the self (e.g. our values, personality, self-esteem / self-confidence, thoughts and feelings) as well as the external context or environment that we find ourselves in and any support we may have. For example, another psychologist; Geller (2016) notes in his TED talk (c.f. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAPjnAR980I) that our motivation can be linked to our beliefs. For example, we are self-motivated to undertake a task if we answer yes to these three simple questions; (1) Can you do it? (2) Will it work? and (3) Is it worth it? If we believe we can do it, then we have ‘self-efficacy’; if we believe it will work, we have ‘response efficacy’, and if we believe it is worth it, then we have weighed up the costs and benefits and found in favour of the latter. Moreover, having ‘choice’ or a sense of autonomy over our actions encourages self-motivation as well as ‘community’ or having social support and connections with others.
Our self-motivation is also linked to our ‘emotional intelligence’ (Goleman, 1996) or our ability to recognise and manage our own emotions, and the emotions of others. Therefore, motivation can be viewed as something that we are aware of that helps us to reach our goals, though our personal drive to achieve, our commitment to our goals, our initiative and our optimism and perseverance. Moreover, it is not ‘set in stone’ and can be experienced differently for different tasks, or in different emotional states or in different circumstances, and is very individual specific. For example, I have been very motivated throughout lock-down to do a short 15-minute yoga medication to support my physical and mental health but I certainly have no desire to emulate my husband’s self-care strategy of long distance running or training for a marathon!
Therefore, when thinking about what helps to keep us motivated or energised, there are many practical strategies based upon our psychological understanding of the concept of motivation. Firstly, it is important to note that what is key to increasing our motivation levels is to ensure that we underpin these with a strong value base (c.f. Acceptance & Commitment Therapy - ACT; Hayes, 1982). It is much easier to set and stick to motivational goals according to what our values, principles, priorities or interests are. Secondly, having a clearly defined objective or outcome, or reminding ourselves ‘why’ we are undertaking something will increase our focus on that task. Perhaps this is not always obvious, but sometimes we need to do X to get to be able to do Y. Thirdly, if we break down tasks into manageable steps, visualise ourselves achieving these, and then importantly reward ourselves for each step completed, this increases our motivation and energy to continue on to the next step. We are also less likely to avoid starting a task if the first step feels more achievable than perhaps the task as a whole.
For example, within our PIE at Centrepoint, we are currently focusing on staff support (e.g. setting up remote reflective practice sessions, offering brief psychological training on bereavement and loss, and supporting staff well-being) as well as simple possible changes to the physical environment of our supported accommodation services to make them feel more like ‘home’ for our homeless young people. It is a longer-term goal to address wider system behaviours, policies and procedures through the provision of staff PIE training, and consultation to the People Strategy and Housing Operational Model (HOMES). However, having smaller achievable goals keeps us focused and energised as we are working towards embedding a psychologically informed environment across the wider organisation.
Other tips to help increase motivation can include writing things down (as this holds us more accountable than just holding it in our mind) and minimising distractions to reduce procrastination and increase our focus or attention. It is also important to identify possible barriers early on in order to prepare to address them if or when they occur (and knowing what we can change and what we cannot so we do not waste our energy trying to shift what is not moveable!). In addition, trying to remain positive though practicing positive self-talk rather than excessive self-criticism is key because positive moods increase our energy and motivation. Listening to motivational or uplifting music or reading motivational statements can also be helpful via this beneficial impact on our mood. Lastly, it is important not to neglect our basic needs (e.g. sleep, food, relaxation, exercise), for if we are feeling tired or exhausted it can be hard to ‘keep going’ or even get started in the first place! Similarly, ensuring that we practice self-care and take regular breaks, as well as remembering to use our annual leave to allow ourselves to rest, recharge and come back refreshed and ready for action (Stahl, 2016).
Moreover, as per a PIE, our relationships with others are critical and not just because of any effects on motivation caused by ‘extrinsic’ or external factors. Having good social support can be ‘intrinsically’ very helpful, although importantly this needs to be encouragement, constructive feedback and the provision of rewards for success rather than ‘guilt tripping’ or shaming us for failure. Our relationships with others can also help us to ensure we are setting realistic goals, obtaining feedback to improve and giving us prompts or support and guidance to deal with setbacks and challenges. This should however be a two-way process, as motivating others can also help motivate ourselves. Consequently, if we are managing (or motivating) others the following suggestions from Nanton & Dicks (2015) to increase workplace motivation are useful. Firstly, it is important to give our staff opportunities for 1:1 attention, feedback and recognition, as well as training and development. Secondly, we also need to role model and create a culture of positivity, optimism and teamwork that inspires everyone we work with to contribute to a shared vision or mission, which in Centrepoint is to #changethestory for homeless young people in the UK. Finally, we need to regularly highlight positive progress and recognise and appreciate our team for the work they undertake, to keep them motivated to face the next challenge or work on the next project.
Consequently, keeping those around us as well as ourselves motivated and energised despite the ongoing challenges, is therefore possible with a little bit of effort and some simple psychologically informed strategies. It is also arguably effort worth making, as it will lead to better outcomes for ourselves, our colleagues and the homeless young people we support. We do not know the future with any certainty, especially at the moment, so focusing on ‘taking one day at a time’ and perhaps holding on to the constants within the uncertainty can help us manage any associated anxiety. Whilst I was on the coast this weekend, each day the tide would come in and go out in a predictable manner, and it was comforting to me to sit and observe this ‘constant’ in our currently uncertain and ever changing world. Moreover, each small wave gradually worked its way up the beach, inch by inch before the sea finally reached the high tide point. Obviously, the sea kept going to reach its goal because it was being ‘extrinsically motivated’ by the gravitational pull of the earth and the moon(!), but it made me reflect that each small step we make towards a goal, is a step closer to our end point. Finally, sometimes reminding ourselves that ‘we didn’t come this far to only come this far’, can help us to remember to just keep going…
