Quotes About Motivation

But, as with punishments, they can never help someone to develop a commitment to a task or an action, a reason to keep doing it when there's no longer a payoff.

Students will become good readers when they read more. Students will read more when they enjoy reading. They will enjoy reading when they enjoy their reading material. They will enjoy their reading material when they are left to choose it themselves, and to delve into it on their own terms.

Being afraid of failure isn't at all the same thing as embracing success. In fact, the former gets in the way of the latter.

what actually stood between the carrot and the stick was, of course, a jackass.

When we repeatedly promise rewards to children for acting responsibly, or to students for making an effort to learn something new, or to employees for doing quality work, we are assuming that they could not or would not choose to act this way on their own.

the use of rewards for reading, writing, drawing, acting responsibly and generously, and so on is cause for concern, not only because these things could be intrinsically motivating but because we want to encourage rather than extinguish that motivation.

Where did this disposition come from? And what are our long-term goals for people—particularly children—with respect to motivation?

There's a huge difference between a student whose objective is to get a good grade and a student whose objective is to solve a problem or understand a story. What's more, the research suggests that when kids are encouraged to focus on getting better marks in school, three things tend to happen: They lose interest in the learning itself, they try to avoid tasks that are challenging, and they're less likely to think deeply and critically.

To examine the claim that rewards are effective at altering behavior, we pose three questions: First, for whom are they effective? Second, for how long are they effective? And third, at what, exactly, are they effective? (I have already hinted at a fourth question—At what cost are they effective?—but

the use of powerful systematic reward procedures to promote increased engagement in target activities may also produce concomitant decreases in task engagement, in situations where neither tangible nor social extrinsic rewards are perceived to be available.7

what matters is not just how motivated someone is but the source and nature of that motivation.13

The troubling truth is that rewards and punishments are not opposites at all; they are two sides of the same coin. And it is a coin that does not buy very much.

How will this affect children's interest in learning, their desire to keep reading and thinking and exploring?" In the case of homework, the answer is disturbingly clear. Most kids hate homework. They dread it, groan about it, put off doing it as long as possible. It may be the single most reliable extinguisher of the flame of curiosity.

In the absence of homework, "students come in all the time and hand me articles about something we talked about in class or tell me about a news report they saw. When intrigued by a good lesson and given freedom [from homework], they naturally seek out more knowledge.

The author Barbara Coloroso suggests that, before asking something, you might 'question why you are asking it.' Laying bare our motives can offer guidance about whether it's worth asking. Hint: it's when we're not entirely sure what the child will say, and when we're open to more than one response, that a question is most likely to be beneficial.

rewards, like punishments, actually undermine the intrinsic motivation that promotes optimal performance.

We should get into the habit of reading inspirational books, looking at inspirational pictures, hearing inspirational music, associating with inspirational friends.

Michael Jordan initially failed to make his varsity high school basketball team but became one of the greatest athletes to ever play the sport.

My parents are my major supporters. I look up to Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson and Jim Carrey. They have all opened my mind and helped me with my craft.

Denzel Washington invoked confidence. When you have confidence, you can do anything. And that's what happened. I learned about being honest and keeping it true, keeping it true in my performance.

My mom graduated from the University of Michigan, which is a great school. Then she got her Master's from NYU. She wanted to be an actress, so when she graduated, she had a dream, and she started following it. She moved to New York and took acting classes with people like Denzel Washington.

I was in Washington, D.C., on the morning show, by the time I was 18, programming a station by 19, No. 1 in the mornings. I think I was making, I don't know, a quarter of a million dollars by the time I was 25.

Ms. Oprah Winfrey gave me some advice to just always stay in the moment, and don't waste energy on negative things, and put your energy into positive things in your life. I just try to remember that every day and keep on going.

There was nothing I could - and wanted to - learn in school. It was just a complete waste of my time.