Stay on Track: Hidden Forces That Make or Break Your Motivation – Part II with Ayelet Fishbach & Charles Good | TGLP #235

Today, we continue our conversation with Ayelet Fishbach.

Ayelet Fishbach studies social psychology, management and consumer behavior. She is the past president of the Society for the Science of Motivation and the International Social Cognition Network, and the best-selling author of GET IT DONE: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.  

Fishbach is an expert on motivation and decision making. Her groundbreaking research on human motivation has won the Society of Experimental Social Psychology's Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award. She further received the Provost's Teaching Award from the University of Chicago. 

Fishbach’s research has been published in many journals, including Nature, Psychological Review, Psychological Science, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Her research is regularly featured in the media, including the New York Times, Financial Times, WSJ, CNN, and NPR.

In this second part of our conversation, we dive deeper into the practical strategies for sustaining motivation when the initial excitement fades. Ayelet reveals how to boost intrinsic motivation, navigate the vulnerable middle stage of goal pursuit, and overcome the common challenges that derail our best intentions.

Key topics include:

• Three strategies for boosting intrinsic motivation

• When to persist with goals versus when to let them go

• The motivation challenge of the middle stage and solutions for staying engaged

• How to monitor progress effectively using "half full" versus "half empty" approaches

• Strengthening identity and values to resist temptation in crucial moments

• The psychology of sharing goals publicly and when to keep them private

• Effective self-talk techniques using distancing language for better self-regulation

• Why follow-through is challenging and strategies for bridging intention-action gaps

Whether you're struggling to maintain momentum on important projects, trying to build sustainable habits, or helping your team stay motivated through challenging periods, Ayelet's research-backed insights provide proven methods for turning motivation science into lasting behavioral change.

Ayelet Fishbach’s Website: https://www.ayeletfishbach.com/ 

Ayelet Fishbach's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Done-Surprising-Lessons-Motivation/dp/0316538345 

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Website and live online programs: http://ims-online.com 

Blog: https://blog.ims-online.com/ 

Podcast: https://ims-online.com/podcasts/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesgood/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlesgood99 

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:20) Tool: Three Strategies for Boosting Intrinsic Motivation

(05:00) Technique: When to Persist vs When to Let Goals Go

(08:25) Tip: Navigating the Vulnerable Middle Stage of Goals

(11:15) Tool: Half Full vs Half Empty Progress Monitoring

(14:30) Technique: Strengthening Identity to Resist Temptation

(19:20) Tip: The Psychology of Sharing Goals Publicly

(22:45) Tool: Effective Self-Talk Using Distancing Language

(24:25) Technique: Bridging the Intention-Action Gap

(27:25) Tip: Combining Multiple Goals for Better Follow-Through

(28:34) Conclusion

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