The Willpower Paradox ... Interesting!

[MJ DeMarco]

The Willpower Paradox: Scientific American

Interesting, posing motivation in the form of a question vs a commitment shows better results ... and here we all thought that exclaiming "I will" and "I can" was the way to go.

 

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[Darkside]

The Willpower Paradox: Scientific American

Interesting, posing motivation in the form of a question vs a commitment shows better results ... and here we all thought that exclaiming "I will" and "I can" was the way to go.

This makes sense, at least in my own experience. Whenever I try to hold myself to doing something in a very rigid way, "I will get this done!" type of mentality, I tend to last for a while and then give up at the first sign of real difficulty. This is because the self-doubts start to creep in the moment you are at your weakest and you end up caving in to them because you figure that you were not as strong as you previously thought.

On the other hand, if you approach it with a question like, "Will I get this done?" you start off with an explorer type of mentality, where you are seeing how far you can take it and you are surprised to find out that you can take it much further than you believed at the outset. The reason being that you are open minded about failure; you view it more as a learning experience, applying new strategies to solve the same problem rather than giving up after one attempt.

 

[MikeC]

This makes sense, at least in my own experience. Whenever I try to hold myself to doing something in a very rigid way, "I will get this done!" type of mentality, I tend to last for a while and then give up at the first sign of real difficulty. This is because the self-doubts start to creep in the moment you are at your weakest and you end up caving in to them because you figure that you were not as strong as you previously thought.

On the other hand, if you approach it with a question like, "Will I get this done?" you start off with an explorer type of mentality, where you are seeing how far you can take it and you are surprised to find out that you can take it much further than you believed at the outset. The reason being that you are open minded about failure; you view it more as a learning experience, applying new strategies to solve the same problem rather than giving up after one attempt.

Very true. Usually I have a lot of dedication at first, but then I end up giving up. Well, time for a new mindset!

 

[Darkside]

Very true. Usually I have a lot of dedication at first, but then I end up giving up. Well, time for a new mindset!

What helps me is knowing that there is a solution out there to every problem. I might not have the tools right now to solve it but if I seek the answers, I will probably find them, whereas if I give up I will never solve the problem.

 

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[Merkin Man]

Kiyosaki touched on something like this in RDPD. I don't recall the exact phrasing, but it was basically as soon as you say "I can't" you've stopped your creative thinking. Instead, when faced with a challenge, ask yourself "how can I?" Perhaps the "I will" is equally destructive to that process.

Also, saying to yourself "I will" gives you the excuse to put something off until a future time. I believe a more powerful way to phrase your inner thoughts would be "I am" or "I have" implying that, in your mind, you are already succeeding in your challenge.

 

[FDJustin]

Also, saying to yourself "I will" gives you the excuse to put something off until a future time.

I think you might be onto something there. At least, I know for a fact I've used it as a procrastination excuse. ... Then again, I would still be more inclined to get to it after procrastinating than had I never said "I will."

So I wonder what the actual reason for the questioning to work better than statements? Could it simply be that asking, leads to more reasons to get genuinely motivated, while stating forgoes reason beyond "This is what I committed to doing." ... The experiment doesn't really cover what would happen if someone had a list of reasons, then decided to choose "I will."


Hmm. You know, I actually thought the article concluded something else, but now I think I just got the wrong interpretation. Language is awesome that way.

 

[Rickson9]

I posted a somewhat related idea by Derek Sivers; if you want to increase you chances of success, don't tell anyone your goals.

Derek Sivers - Keep You Goals To Yourself

Best regards.

 

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[Phantastik]

I use the voice in my head as a motivator. I tell myself it will worth it, if i accomplish it. But sometime procrastination kicks in, but with article maybe I could see it in a different perspective.