"The mistake is to
imagine that perfection is possible when the very idea is unthinkable." Luis Figo
On a regular basis I am confronted by clients who refer to themselves as being
perfectionists. Very often this is stated with a certain pride and belief that
this is the only way to be if you want to become a great performer.
Unfortunately, the quest for perfection tends to provide far more negatives
than it does positives.
The problem is that ‘perfectionists’ are pursuing something that is completely
unattainable so rather than focus on what they achieve they tend to focus on
the bits that are preventing them from being perfect. So when they make a
mistake they will tend to ruminate on the mistake, often beating themselves up
in the process. This causes people to mentally rehearse the mistake rather than
desired performance thus programming the mind so that it is more likely to
repeat the mistake when a similar situation comes about. The pursuit of
perfectionism can also lead to anxiety, fear and, ultimately, a loss of
motivation, all of which can further hinder performance.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have big goals. In fact, we are all capable
of achieving extraordinary things. We just need to aim for something that
we can define. The greatest performers have never been perfect. Even when Nadia
Comaneci scored a ‘perfect’ 10 for gymnastics in the Montreal Olympics, there
was still room for improvement.
So don’t aim for perfect. Brilliant will do!
Andy Barton
Wider Vision Ltd
Friday 28 June 2013
Friday 14 June 2013
Motivation: When a question is the answer
It’s that cliché you will see often in films and books when the hero stands in front of the mirror riddled with self doubt and procrastination. He takes a long considered look at himself, takes a deep breath and, in a calm, clear and unwavering voice, says to himself something like “I will do it!”. This statement is enough to make the difference. The hero now finds he is motivated and determined to go out and succeed (which he invariably does).
The things we say to ourselves have a profound effect on our motivation and our ability to achieve goals and succeed in tasks. However, a paper by Ibrahim Senay, Dolores Albarracin, and Kenji Noguchi which was published in ‘Psychological Science’ suggests that declarative statements such as “I will do it!” (as made by our hero) actually can have a detrimental effect on our performance whereas interrogative statements which involve asking yourself a question (“Will I?) will actually have a far more effective impact on motivation and performance.
In one of their studies, they told their subjects that they were testing individuals’ handwriting ability and asked one group to write “I will” 20 times on a piece of paper and a second group to write “Will I?” 20 times. They were all then asked to attempt a series of challenging anagrams. Interestingly, the people in the group that had written “Will I?” actually solved nearly twice as many anagrams than the group that said “I will”.
The same handwriting exercise was then used for a second study. This time after completing the assignment they were asked how likely they were to start exercising (or continue if they already were). They were also asked questions around whether they felt that they would exercise because it was something they considered to be important or whether it was something they would do so they didn’t feel guilty or ashamed. The people who wrote “Will I?” were far more likely to exercise. They also considered doing exercise because it was important whereas the “I will” group were more likely to do it to avoid guilt.
It seems that the “I will” group would lost motivation for exercise because once they made the statement it became an obligation. When we are obliged to do something we actually tend to be less motivated than when we feel we have a choice. The “Will I?” group actually do feel that they have a choice and so embrace their decision to exercise in a far more positive way. It is the same effect when you ask someone to close a door. If you just say “Close the door” to someone they are far less likely to want to do it than if you say “Can you close the door?”
So next time you want to get motivated don’t tell yourself – ask yourself instead!
Andy Barton
Wider Vision Ltd
The things we say to ourselves have a profound effect on our motivation and our ability to achieve goals and succeed in tasks. However, a paper by Ibrahim Senay, Dolores Albarracin, and Kenji Noguchi which was published in ‘Psychological Science’ suggests that declarative statements such as “I will do it!” (as made by our hero) actually can have a detrimental effect on our performance whereas interrogative statements which involve asking yourself a question (“Will I?) will actually have a far more effective impact on motivation and performance.
In one of their studies, they told their subjects that they were testing individuals’ handwriting ability and asked one group to write “I will” 20 times on a piece of paper and a second group to write “Will I?” 20 times. They were all then asked to attempt a series of challenging anagrams. Interestingly, the people in the group that had written “Will I?” actually solved nearly twice as many anagrams than the group that said “I will”.
The same handwriting exercise was then used for a second study. This time after completing the assignment they were asked how likely they were to start exercising (or continue if they already were). They were also asked questions around whether they felt that they would exercise because it was something they considered to be important or whether it was something they would do so they didn’t feel guilty or ashamed. The people who wrote “Will I?” were far more likely to exercise. They also considered doing exercise because it was important whereas the “I will” group were more likely to do it to avoid guilt.
It seems that the “I will” group would lost motivation for exercise because once they made the statement it became an obligation. When we are obliged to do something we actually tend to be less motivated than when we feel we have a choice. The “Will I?” group actually do feel that they have a choice and so embrace their decision to exercise in a far more positive way. It is the same effect when you ask someone to close a door. If you just say “Close the door” to someone they are far less likely to want to do it than if you say “Can you close the door?”
So next time you want to get motivated don’t tell yourself – ask yourself instead!
Andy Barton
Wider Vision Ltd
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