The interplay of the factors of self motivation

The model for self motivation is

MOTIVATION = ƒ (VISION, SUCCESSABILITY, ENVIRONMENT).

This means anything you do to one of the factors on the right, will automatically impact your motivation. Make your vision more desirable, your motivation will increase. Take actions to increase your successability (your confidence in your competence) your motivation will increase. Surround yourself with people who support you (environment), your motivation will increase. Negatively impact any of the three, and your motivation will suffer.

But the relationship is more complex than that, because the three factors of self motivation are not three independent factors; instead they are interrelated. Steps you take to impact one factor will frequently favorably impact not only your motivation, but will also favorably impact another factor, which in its turn will favorably impact your motivation.

A major interaction is the one between successability and the environment.

People who have high levels of confidence in themselves (successability) are more likely to use the resources available in their social environment. They will seek out relationships in their social environment that will help them achieve the goals they are seeking. As a result, their confidence will increase even more. Those who feel less confident, on the other hand, are less likely to pursue these relationships, so they will lack the support and other benefits that such relationships can provide. As a result, their confidence in their ability will diminish even more.

The more confident person will be more likely to pursue the training and skill gathering opportunities available in the environment, whether from institutions of learning or less formal training from social organizations or from their employer. As a result their confidence will increase as they acquire additional skills. The less confident person will question his or her ability to succeed at such training and will be less likely to attempt it. As a result, the person with low confidence will not be able to benefit by these resources.

The relationship between vision and successability is just as important. It is easier for a confident person to come up with a more exciting, more compelling vision. The more desirable the vision, the more valuable it is to the person, the more motivating it is to the person. A less confident person is more likely to accept what he has been offered, rather than selecting what is truly dear to his or her heart.

The reason this interdependency is important for you, is so you know to work on all three factors. Don’t ignore any of the three. Working on all three factors gives you three times as many opportunities to increase your motivation. But because the three are interrelated, the outcome can often result in more than three times as much motivation. On the other hand, ignoring any of the three can have a powerful impact on your motivation as well, but in a negative direction.

Vision, successability and environment are the three factors of motivation. Use all three to maximize your motivation.

P.S. If you want to know how to increase your self confidence, take a look at my last posting.