Motivation and Mental Wellbeing

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Summary

Motivation and mental wellbeing are linked. Motivation is required in many aspects of our lives. Motivation is required to pursue mental wellbeing. Dopamine is important for us to have motivation. The neuroscience of motivation includes internal and external variables affect our motivation and how motivation can be reinforced and how motivation can be destroyed. Mental health disorders can include a lack of motivation. Seeking mental health treatment for mental health distress is important and may help with a lack of motivation. Be inspired by the success of others. Find inspiration in music, poetry, inspirational speakers. Work on motivation and work towards mental wellbeing.

Motivation and mental wellbeing are linked in a bidirectional relationship. Let’s explore further.

What Is Motivation

Motivation is the desire to accomplish a goal, complete a task, acquire a skill, secure a comfort, maintain a relationship. I distinguish motivation from motive (reason for doing something) though I have seen dictionary definitions which equate the two words. Regardless, motivation transects all aspects of our lives.

Motivation Impacts Mental Wellbeing

Motivation is an element of being mentally healthy and is required for us to pursue mental wellbeing.

Consider one of your usual activities. Washing the dishes, as an example. Yes, washing dishes is a chore required to maintain a sanitary home environment. Your motive is to keep your home free of vermin and mold and dirty dishes you cannot use for food. Motivation is the underlying energy that spurs you to initiate the act of washing the dishes.

Imagine you have no motivation. Bereft of all motivation, you don’t do anything. How can any of us expect a person who lacks motivation to carry out the usual tasks of life? How can that person pursue mental wellbeing if they lack motivation?

But, we do expect them to carry on in life. Sometimes, we are expecting too much. On occasion, we need to step back, observe, put ourselves in their shoes, and be compassionate. Don’t stop there. Provide the person with information on local mental health services.

Symptoms of mental health distress can include lack of motivation. Unless you are a mental health professional treating the person lacking motivation, please do not diagnose them. Guide them to trained professionals who can help them.

Cultivating Motivation

People who are not suffering from mental health distress can experience lack of motivation. The neuroscience tells us that we can cultivate motivation. Fuel ourselves with positive thinking and we are on our way to feeling motivated.

Cultivate motivation and mental wellbeing. Create a cycle of growth by fostering positivity and accumulating accomplishments. Set a SMART goal (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely). Achieve the goal. Reap the feeling of being competent. Continue the cycle and you will be teaching yourself to repeat the cycle of success.

Let’s start with a brief motivational video from one of my favourite neuroscience geeks:

Train Your Brain for Success: Harnessing the Power of Positive Thinking

The Cellular Republic:

The Cellular Republic Video

Motivation Fueled by Dopamine

Recall my post about music and mental health in which I mention Indre Viskontas and her TED Talk about dopamine’s rise in our brains as we anticipate and are motivated to reach the high notes in a performance of a soprano’s solo in an opera, as an example. In comparison, the ecstasy is brief and is due to rises in endorphins and endocannabinoids, as Taylor Guthrie eloquently and succinctly reminds in Unleashing the Power of Dopamine: How Motivation Drives Success (The Cellular Republic https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0ZSAu-yaLZs). Motivation results from dopamine.

I recommend the podcast of Taylor Guthrie and Andrew Cooper-Sansone, The Social Brain, for in-depth presentations on the neuroscience of social functioning. In episode 12, referenced below, they elegantly discuss the dopamine neurocircuits related to motivation and movement and how these two neurocircuits intersect to allow us to establish and attain goals.

Listen to the portion of the podcast contrasting intrinsic (internal) versus extrinsic (external) motivation. Consider how external rewards may dissuade a person from pursuing an activity which they enjoy. The research supports this fact: external rewards, like a bonus at work, actually deter people from enjoying the work. Without enjoyment, why continue to pursue the work? If one is forced to work, one is less likely to enjoy the work. How does that affect productivity?

Contemplate their mention of self-determination theory in psychology and how a sense of autonomy (control over decision-making), a sense of competence, and a sense of relatedness contribute to our motivation to do something.

Hmmm. Workplace dynamics reenvisioned incorporating neuroscientific principles may actually create healthy work environments. What an oxymoron!

We may need to rethink how society reimburses and accolades employees. We need money to live. We need more than money to derive satisfaction in life. As someone told me when I was a teenager, something I failed to understand until much later in life, we should not be living to work.

Treatment for Motivation and Mental Wellbeing

Motivation does not come easily all of the time. Medical conditions and psychiatric symptoms may affect our motivation. Environmental factors may affect our motivation. Psychosocial stressors, like financial insecurity, lack of food, relationship issues, unemployment, and inadequate housing, may affect our motivation.

Seeking treatment for mental health symptoms may help you with your motivation. Please reach out to a mental health professional to address your symptoms. Never stop medications you are taking to treat your mental health symptoms without consulting with the prescriber of the medications.

Motivation is only one component in achieving mental wellbeing. Be certain to discuss concerns about your mental health with your health care team. Ask about resources that may help you to address access to housing, food, income, a meaningful day activity, and socialization.

Call to Action for Mental Wellbeing via Motivation

Inspire yourself to find the motivation to achieve mental wellbeing. Seek wellbeing. Appreciate the here and now.

Maybe a song can ignite a flame inside of you, generate the energy to take the first step.

Perhaps a poem brings a smile to your face. Recall those mirror neurons and how you can elicit a happy feeling by exercising your facial muscles, inciting them into a smile, and triggering mirror neurons to work their magic.

Perchance, witnessing the success of a friend inspires you to start your journey.

Don’t stop now.

Take Flight with Motivation

It does not hurt to discover inspirational speakers. Mine may not be conventional or mainstream and I will share one of them anyway.

Inspiration from listening to Zach Evans, about learning anything in life. Take a listen.

A New Verse in Music (and Other) Education: Grab Quick Wins Early

TEDx Oshkosh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D50GZ2dIyWw

Are you motivated now?

What’s stopping you?

Find your secret sauce. Discover your motivation. Seek wellbeing in learning something new, every day of your life. Take the chance of experiencing the universe’s beauty revealed to us through our motivation and mental wellbeing.

Additional Resources

From Burnout to Bliss: Dopamine, Motivation, and Goals

The Social Brain, episode 12

Taylor Guthrie and Andrew Cooper-Sansonehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh6AX7SerMs



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