How To Stay Motivated - The Locus Rule

On the other hand the students who were told that they did well because they worked hard spent the majority of their time focused on the harder puzzles they also spent a lot more time overall attempting to solve any of the puzzles which was a sign of an increase in levels of motivation.

Also to top it all off after the experiment they said that they actually enjoyed the entire experience.

What we can learn from this study is a concept called the locus of control which is essentially the degree to which you believe you have control over your life.

The kids who were told that they did well because they were smart were led to believe in what's called an external locus of control they were led to believe that factors outside of what they could control like you can't control whether or not you're born smart.

On the other hand the kids were told they did well because they worked hard started to believe in what's called an internal locus of control. They believed that it was factors they controlled that led to their outcomes. Like it was their hard work and the extra effort that they put.

Having an internal locus of control is the key to staying motivated. You must feel like you have control over your life and that you are responsible for the things that happen to you if you want to feel motivated all of the time

The best way to do so is by simply solving problems in your own life and then taking some time to appreciate the fact that it was your actions that solved this problem.

For instance, Let's say you're someone who struggles with falling asleep. So you do some research and find out if you get some more sunlight in the morning, not use phone 1hr before going to bed and install a blue light filter on your phone should drastically increase you to sleep faster when bedtime comes around you. Do all of those things and you find yourself sleeping 15 minutes faster than before.

When you notice this improvement you need to say to yourself because of the changes I made because of the effort I put in that I am now able to sleep better.

It's that simple build up of belief that you are in control of your destiny, that you have an internal locus of control and you will never have issues with motivation in your life.