Quotes About Motivation

That sense of progress is critical, because the Elephant in us is easily demoralized. It's easily spooked, easily derailed, and for that reason, it needs reassurance, even for the very first step of the journey.

If you want people to change, you must provide crystal-clear direction.

Because identities are central to the way people make decisions, any change effort that violates someone's identity is likely doomed to failure. (That's why it's so clumsy when people instinctively reach for "incentives" to change other people's behavior.)

researchers have found again and again that people act as though losses are from two to four times more painful than gains are pleasurable.

It will come as no surprise that one reliable way of making people care is by invoking self-interest.

This is an economic issue as well as an emotional one: In a survey of 10,000 employees from the 1,000 largest companies, 40% of workers cited "lack of recognition" as a key reason for leaving a job. This

You'll direct the Rider, motivate the Elephant, and shape the Path.

Whether the switch you seek is in your family, in your charity, in your organization, or in society at large, you'll get there by making three things happen. You'll direct the Rider, motivate the Elephant, and shape the Path.

So when you hear people say that change is hard because people are lazy or resistant, that's just flat wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: Change is hard because people wear themselves out. And that's the second surprise about change: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.

you need quick wins to get fired up. And getting fired up is super-important.

trainers set a behavioral destination and then use "approximations," meaning that they reward each tiny step toward the destination.

Knowledge does not change behavior

In the last few chapters, we've seen that a credible idea makes people believe. An emotional idea makes people care. And in this chapter we'll see that the right stories make people act.

Reinforcement is the secret to getting past the first step of your long journey and on to the second, third, and hundredth steps. And that's a problem, because most of us are terrible rein-forcers. We are quicker to grouse than to praise.

We need to be looking for bright spots—however tiny!—and rewarding them.

to make progress on a change, you need ways to direct the Rider. Show him where to go, how to act, what destination to pursue. And that's why bright spots are so essential, because they are your best hope for directing the Rider when you're trying to bring about change.

As recounted in his book It's Your Ship, one of Captain Abrashoff's first moves was to interview every one of the 310 crew members on the ship. He learned their personal histories and their motivations for joining the navy, and he sought their opinions about the Benfold: What do you like most? Least? What would you change if you could?

When change works, it tends to follow a pattern. The people who change have clear direction, ample motivation, and a supportive environment.

In a survey of 10,000 employees from the 1,000 largest companies, 40% of workers cited "lack of recognition" as a key reason for leaving a job.

Deadlines focus our mental spotlight on a choice. They grab us by the collar and say, If you're gonna do this, you have to do it now. In

tap more profound motivations.

SMART goals presume the emotion; they don't generate it. In looking for a goal that reaches the Elephant—that hits people in the gut—you can't bank on SMART goals.

successful change transformations were more likely to set behavioral goals:

As I see it, I am not just in charge of food service; I am in charge of morale.