The Goldilocks Rule - Deepstash
The Psychology of Willpower

Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection

How to strengthen your willpower

How to overcome temptation and distractions

The role of motivation in willpower

The Psychology of Willpower

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The Goldilocks Rule

The Goldilocks Rule

We experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of our current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

Tasks that are significantly below our current abilities are boring. Tasks that are significantly beyond our current abilities are discouraging.

4.58K

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Building routines and rituals

Building routines and rituals

They remove the need to make a decision and provide a mindless way to initiate a behavior:

  • To become more creative: Follow a creative ritual before you start writing or painting or singing.
  • To start each day stress-free: Create a five-minute morning meditation ritual.
  • T...

5.06K

13.4K reads

Active inspiration

Active inspiration

Motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it. Getting started, even in very small ways, is a form of active inspiration that naturally produces momentum.

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17K reads

The essence of motivation

The essence of motivation

Every choice has a price, but when we are motivated, it is easier to bear the inconvenience of action than the pain of remaining the same.

In other words, at some point, it becomes more painful to not do the work than to actually do it.

5.5K

22.9K reads

Scheduling motivation

Scheduling motivation

Setting a schedule for yourself seems simple, but it puts your decision-making on autopilot by giving your goals a time and a place to live. It makes it more likely that you will follow through regardless of your motivation levels.

4.59K

13.9K reads

The Physics of productivity

The Physics of productivity

Newton’s First Law applied to habit formation: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. 

Once a task has begun, it is easier to continue moving it forward. In other words, it is often easier to finish a task than it was to start it in the first place.

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14.4K reads

When motivation fades

When motivation fades

  • Consider every thought you have as a suggestion, not an order. And none of these suggestions are orders. They are merely options;
  • Maintain perspective: Your discomfort is temporary;
  • You will never regret good work once it is done.

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Making motivation a habit

Making motivation a habit

  1. Make the start easy: You shouldn’t need motivation to start your pre–game routine;
  2. While your routine should be as easy as possible to start, it should gradually transition into more and more physical movement;
  3. You need to follow the same pattern every single time: Eventually...

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12.7K reads

CURATED FROM

IDEAS CURATED BY

cristian_jj

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. " ~ Abraham Lincoln

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The Goldilocks Rule for staying motivated

The Goldilocks Rule for staying motivated

We experience peak motivation when we are performing actions that are right on the edge our current abilities.

Not too difficult, not too easy.

The Goldilocks Rule

The Goldilocks Rule

The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference. 

The Goldilocks Rule: Stay
Motivated in Life and Work

The Goldilocks Rule: Stay Motivated in Life and Work

  • The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.
  • As habits become routine, they become less interesting and less satisfying. We get bored.
  • Anyone can work hard when they feel motivat...

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