What drives your decisions, your choices in life? When it comes to your career, relationships, or even your health, what motivates you? Knowing the answer to that question gives you some powerful ammunition to be your own best coach or cheerleader.
The psychology of motivation is interesting, at least we think it is. Theories abound as to how to get from where you are to where you want to go. One of the easiest theories to understand and therefore apply to your life is the “push-pull” theory of motivation. Imagine your boss came to you with a big goal to achieve at work. If his or her approach included telling you what to do, giving you directions for how to do it, establishing a timeline, and having periodic check-ins to hold you accountable, that would constitute “pushing” you toward the goal. If, on the other hand, he or she described the project to be accomplished, explained the underlying reasons for why it’s important, asked for your ideas on how best to accomplish it, and asked if you’re interested in taking it on, that’s an example of “pulling” you toward the goal.
Or let’s consider a health example. The goal you have is losing 20 pounds and being more fit in three months. Using a “push” mentality, you’d set the deadline, focus on what you’re going to eat and not eat, what kind of exercise you’re going to do and when, and likely recruit a friend or coach to push you away from something you’re trying to avoid (your current health status) while holding you accountable. A “pull” approach looks very different. You’d start by figuring out why this goal is important to you and how your life will be better when you reach it. Then move on to asking yourself, “Is this why enough to keep me going, to pull me along when the going gets tough?” You’d brainstorm some possible accomplishment strategies that fit into your life and schedule, and eventually have an honest internal conversation and ask yourself if you’re serious enough about reaching this goal that you’re ready to make the commitment.
In short, a “push” motivation approach is driven by external factors that push people away from an undesirable result, such as losing weight and becoming more fit to avoid a heart attack or other negative outcome. Whereas “pull” motivation factors are generally internal, and they draw you toward a positive result, such as choosing to improve your health and fitness because you want to be able to enjoy your kids or grandkids or take on a physically challenging job.
Which is better? Usually, successful goal achievement is driven by a little of both, although some personalities and some situations respond better to one approach or the other. In our example above about losing weight and becoming more fit, you may find it inspirational to think about both avoiding a chronic disease (push) and all the good things you’ll be able to do when you’re more fit (pull). Most people know themselves well enough to know which approach lights a fire under them. Do you? Think about when you’ve successfully achieved goals in the past. How did you stay motivated and focused long enough to get there? When you think about the goals you have for your life now, which approach excites you and makes you want to dig in?
