Ayelet Fishbach: Harnessing the Power of Motivation

First Call Out: Mark speaks with social psychologist, Aylet Fishbach about the science of motivation and how to set better goals. Ayelet Fishbach, PhD, is the Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and the past president of the Society for the Study of Motivation and the International Social Cognition Network (ISCON).

She is an expert on motivation and decision making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s groundbreaking research on human motivation has won her several international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award.

Her new book Get it Done: Surprising Lessons From the Science of Motivation is coming out in January of 2022. Today, Commander Divine speaks with Ayelet Fishbach, a social psychologist who focuses on the science of motivation. Dr. Fishbach speaks about how to set goals that are enforced by our intrinsic motivation, how to analyze our goals and evaluate how well they are working, and why it’s crucial to have people in your life who want you to succeed.

Key Takeaways: Motivation is a force. It starts with a goal, but motivation is the force that moves us towards our goal. Willpower is what we use to resist a negative behavior, while motivation pushes us towards the positive. Focus on adding positive actions to your life instead of ending negative habits.

When we focus on ending behaviors, rather than replacing them, we reinforce those negative behaviors by thinking about them. Identity is important. When the goal is related to who you are, people are much more likely to persist.

Example: I am a life-long learner, and I will read a new book every week. It’s important to analyze your goals. A goal shouldn’t be too abstract or too specific. It should be a goal that is good for you. It should be challenging, but not too challenging, or you will quit.

Don’t set a goal that doesn’t fit in with your life or conflicts with another goal. If your goal is to advance in your career, but you also want to start a family, it might not be the time for one of those goals. Try to create habits that align with more than one goal.

Example: You want to eat healthier, and you also want to save money. Create a habit around food prep, so that you will have healthy foods easily accessible and avoid eating out. Have a support system. T

he people you need in your life are not necessarily experts in the area of your goal, but they are people who are rooting for you. If you don’t have that in your life, find it. Links: Ayelet Fishbach Twitter

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