It was my understanding that thinking of both potential good and bad outcomes (mental contrasting) was more powerfully motivating than thinking of either alone. In my experience, psychology research on this subject also isn’t super reliable. Personally, I definitely find thinking about bad outcomes motivating, as I’m a naturally happy person and good outcomes don’t make me much happier than the baseline for long.
The motivational aspects do vary a lot from person to person :-) The nature of the specific emotions and their impact on motivation is more consistent across the majority, however—far from all, but for the majority.
Negative feelings of sadness/sorrow tend to be demotivating, and may lead to depression. Anxiety can be motivating or demotivating, depending on the extent of the anxiety. Anger/frustration tends to be motivating.
Positive feelings of satisfaction/contentment are usually demotivating. Joy/pleasure/excitement can be motivating, especially if coupled with a clear means of gaining these experiences.
Thanks Gleb.
It was my understanding that thinking of both potential good and bad outcomes (mental contrasting) was more powerfully motivating than thinking of either alone. In my experience, psychology research on this subject also isn’t super reliable. Personally, I definitely find thinking about bad outcomes motivating, as I’m a naturally happy person and good outcomes don’t make me much happier than the baseline for long.
I expect this varies a lot from person to person.
The motivational aspects do vary a lot from person to person :-) The nature of the specific emotions and their impact on motivation is more consistent across the majority, however—far from all, but for the majority.
Negative feelings of sadness/sorrow tend to be demotivating, and may lead to depression. Anxiety can be motivating or demotivating, depending on the extent of the anxiety. Anger/frustration tends to be motivating.
Positive feelings of satisfaction/contentment are usually demotivating. Joy/pleasure/excitement can be motivating, especially if coupled with a clear means of gaining these experiences.