Motivation is the driving force that propels individuals to pursue goals, face challenges, and achieve success. Motivation is a multifaceted and complex psychological phenomenon that thrusts individuals toward their values, goals and objectives. Understanding the psychology of motivation provides insight as to why people behave in specified ways and the factors that increase or decrease their drive.
Staying motivated can be challenging. Psychological, environmental, and social barriers often inhibit motivation, making it difficult for individuals to persist through challenges and setbacks. There are common barriers to motivation. Recognizing these barriers and implementing evidence-based strategies to overcome them can help boost motivation, improve resilience, and increase productivity.
This post will stipulate the common barriers to motivation and part two on this topic, published in a subsequent post, will identify practical methods for increasing it.
Common Barriers to Motivation
1. Fatigue and Burnout. Physical and emotional exhaustion can severely reduce motivation which can impact the ability to stay focused and adequately complete tasks. Burnout often results from prolonged stress, high demands, or a lack of adequate breaks, leading to reduced performance, low energy, and an overall sense of disconnection from one’s goals (Maslach et al., 2001).
2. Fear of Failure. Fear of failure is one of the most pervasive barriers to motivation. This fear can lead to avoidance, procrastination, or low self-confidence, causing people to abandon or avoid challenges altogether (Elliot & Church, 1997). Fear of failure is often rooted in a belief that mistakes define one’s ability, making individuals feel anxious about attempting difficult tasks or pushing their limits.
3. Limiting Beliefs. Our beliefs are formed by many factors including how we were raised, the society we live in, and our experiences. Limiting beliefs are often untrue or conjured by external stimuli we have internalized. These can thwart our motivation. Much of these internalizations occur during childhood (Novak, 2019). As we develop, the opinions and perceptions of others are paramount. Negative feedback, criticism, or lack of support from peers and family members can create self-doubt, lower self-esteem, and reduce motivation (Reeve, 2009).
4. Attaching to a Conceptualized Self. A conceptualized self is a type of cognitive fusion described in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). An individual identifies with their thoughts and embodies them as part of their identity. Attachment to the conceptualized self occurs when an individual fuses with thoughts such as that they are a person who is depressed, worried, has significant challenges, or anything else that negatively impacts their identity.
Self-conceptualization plays a beneficial role in creating greater self-confidence. However, negative self-talk or giving in to negative or unproductive thoughts can be harmful to one’s sense of self-worth and therefore get in the way of their overall motivation.
5. Lack of Concrete Values. A struggle with motivation can be due to an inability to define our own personal values or behave remotely from them. Carl Rogers, the father of client-centered therapy, was one of the first psychologists to focus on the concept of values. He stated that challenges and discontentment arise when one’s conceived values (verbal expressions of what is preferred) and operative values (one’s actual behavior) are not aligned (Rogers, 1964).
6. Absence of Clear Goals. Without specific, attainable goals, it’s easy to feel lost or overwhelmed, leading to decreased motivation. Vague or undefined goals lack structure and can make it difficult to track progress, contributing to a lack of direction (Locke & Latham, 2002).
7. Low Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy, or the belief in one’s ability to succeed, is critical for motivation. Low self-efficacy can cause people to doubt their capabilities and feel as though their efforts won’t result in meaningful outcomes, which can decrease motivation and resilience (Bandura, 1997).
Self-efficacy is a key ingredient to motivation. Individuals who possess strong self-efficacy can recognize that they can accomplish challenging tasks, and setbacks don’t mean failure but rather an opportunity for learning and growth.
8. Lack of Autonomy. Motivation often suffers when individuals feel they have little control over their tasks or environment. When individuals are required to follow rigid instructions without choice or flexibility, they may experience a lack of intrinsic motivation, finding little enjoyment or personal relevance in their actions (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
9. Having a Fixed Mindset Rather Than a Growth Mindset. Carol Dweck, known for her research on achievement, success, and mindset, coined the term growth mindset in her book Mindset and stressed the importance of an individual’s ability to recognize that their skills can develop through dedication and hard work (Dweck, 2006).
Dweck asserted that the opposite is true of a fixed mindset, believing someone may not be born with the talent or ability to achieve something, and there is a cap on their learning. She proposes that effort and hard work are not the only factors in a growth mindset. Individuals must also be able to recognize when other strategies are not working as intended and take the opportunity to expand their repertoire.
10. Psychological Inflexibility. Psychological flexibility, an ACT term, explains the ability to stay in contact with the present moment regardless of the barriers to motivation and self-empowerment. Therefore, being with all unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that arise, and choosing one’s behaviors based on the situation and personal values (Hoffman, Rask and Frostholm, 2019). However, in order to increase psychological flexibility and our growth mindset, we must be aware of and be able to recognize these barriers in order to work through them, accomplish what we want, and inspire ourselves.
11. Engaging in Compensatory Strategies. These techniques or modifications to our behavior or environment are used to compensate for a deficit, weakness, injury, or perceived inadequacy in a specific area or skill (Williams, 2016). They help us cope with what we think of as a personal weakness. Cover up our deficits, and we reduce the negative or unwanted feelings or consequences associated with them. These strategies may have been needed and worked well during childhood and adolescence but can be counterproductive or limiting during adulthood. Some compensatory strategies include overworking, shutting down or cutting off physically or emotionally, procrastinating, giving up, distracting, and many others.
12. Lack of Acceptance. Suffering is experienced when a person lacks acceptance over their current circumstances and wishes things were different. Being in this space contributes to regret, shame, and vying for something that may be unrealistic or unfeasible. This can thwart motivation for transformation or change, task completion and moving forward in life.
Recognizing the barriers to motivation assists with our self-awareness and introspection so that we’re able to implement the appropriate and effective skills and strategies to help increase it. Often taking the first step is the most challenging one. Once we’re able to see and experience the rewards of our efforts, it compels us to want to do more.
It is by taking direct action that we become motivated. It often isn’t the case that we start out feeling motivated. We must learn to align with our intrinsic values and act no matter what we’re thinking or feeling because we’re undeniably and unequivocally always worth our time and effort.
To boost motivation, here is a Guided Meditation to Increase Motivation led by me. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel for more interviews and guided meditations.
Blog as published in Psychology Today.
