The way that motivation and willpower are often talked about is at odds with decades of scientific research — e.g. “I have no motivation” or “that person has a lot of willpower” — in reality, neither motivation nor willpower are binary traits you either have or do not have. Motivation and willpower (and the related concepts of drive, tenacity and self-control) are generated within oneself by neural processes across multiple areas of the brain when you intentionally engage in or refrain from certain actions and behaviors. This in turn creates a positive feedback loop which increases your sense of motivation towards a goal or outcome.
Many people get stuck in the procrastination stage, waiting until they have enough preexisting motivation before they act. However, motivation naturally fluctuates over time, and across your day it is also shaped by many extrinsic factors, not all of which are in your control. When starting out, using self-discipline (an objective “I will do this”) rather than motivation (a subjective “I want to do this”) will lead to consistent action and thus generate the motivation you were waiting for in the first place.
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Subtopics
The Neuroscience of Motivation and Willpower
Motivation is fundamental to pursuing both short-term and long-term goals, and willpower can be understood as the ability to resist short-term temptations and persist in challenges. Dopamine is central to both mental states — contrary to popular belief, dopamine is not primarily about pleasure and reward but about motivation, craving and action-oriented pursuit.The anterior mid-cingulate cortex acts as a willpower “hub” in the brain, consolidating signals from other areas of the brain to either encourage one to take action (which is motivation) or resist urges and impulses (willpower). The same neural circuitry for motivation, willpower and tenacity (i.e. perseverance) is activated similarly in demanding physical tasks — like a particularly difficult workout — as well as cognitive tasks involving mental effort, such as studying or resisting the urge to scroll social media.
| Timestamp | Clip | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 00:35:36 Willpower & Glucose, Brain Energetics | Willpower & Glucose, Brain Energetics | How to Increase Your Willpower & Tenacity |
| 00:12:10 Motivation = Pleasure Plus Pain | Motivation = Pleasure Plus Pain | How to Increase Motivation & Drive |
| 00:20:28 Craving, Motivation, Pursuit & Reward Prediction Error | Craving, Motivation, Pursuit & Reward Prediction Error | Leverage Dopamine to Overcome Procrastination & Optimize Effort |
Dopamine and the Brain
Dopamine serves several vital roles in the brain, primarily acting as a neuromodulator — a chemical that alters the activity of neurons. Dopamine is essential for motivation and the pursuit of goals, driving both physical and mental effort towards a desired outcome. Although it’s often associated with pleasure and reward, dopamine is the primary driver in goal-seeking behavior, even if the actions and behavior required to achieve those rewards are unpleasant.The connection between dopamine and motivation goes both ways: just as dopamine increases subjective feelings of motivation and willpower, actively pursuing a goal in turn increases dopamine levels. It may appear that highly successful people must be naturally highly motivated and tenacious, but many of them — including retired United States Navy SEAL and ultramarathon runner David Goggins — speak to the evidence that motivation comes after and as a result of you taking action. If you struggle with motivation and willpower, learning more about the neuroscience of dopamine can provide both insight and actionable tools.
| Timestamp | Clip | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 00:54:50 Disambiguating Pleasure and Drive: Dopamine Makes Us Anti-Lazy | Disambiguating Pleasure and Drive: Dopamine Makes Us Anti-Lazy | How to Increase Motivation & Drive |
| 00:09:58 What Dopamine (Really) Does | What Dopamine (Really) Does | Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction |
| 01:19:57 Dopamine, Motivation & Pleasure in Seeking Goals | Dopamine, Motivation & Pleasure in Seeking Goals | The Science of Setting & Achieving Goals |
How To Get Motivated
If you feel like you have no motivation or willpower, it can feel extremely challenging — if not impossible — to start building forward momentum. Limbic friction is a term coined by Dr. Huberman to both describe the internal resistance and measure the activation energy (i.e. effort) when attempting to initiate or stop an action or behavior. If you are struggling with motivation, you are likely experiencing high limbic friction – meaning it requires a lot more mental effort to initiate or maintain consistency with healthy or productive behaviors than if you have already made it a habit. One of the simplest tools to build motivation and willpower is to engage in “micro sucks” — small, slightly uncomfortable challenges, such as waiting an extra 15 minutes before eating or taking several flights of stairs instead of the elevator. These small challenges help activate the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a region of the prefrontal cortex that is key in building willpower.
| Timestamp | Clip | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 00:38:32 Lack of Motivation, Drives | Lack of Motivation, Drives | [Guest Series |
| 00:52:59 Are You Suppressing Your Drive and Motivation By Working Too Late? | Are You Suppressing Your Drive and Motivation By Working Too Late? | How to Increase Motivation & Drive |
| 00:28:58 Willpower as a Limited Resource (Theory) | Willpower as a Limited Resource (Theory) | How to Increase Your Willpower & Tenacity |
How to Stay Motivated
Even if you have already built momentum towards a goal, it will take intentional effort to sustain your levels of motivation and willpower. Introducing additional discomfort or challenge (such as deliberate cold exposure or short bursts of exercise) or incorporating new skills can help replenish dopamine levels and help compensate for natural dips in motivation. Dr. Maya Shankar, cognitive scientist and former White House senior advisor, refers to these natural dips in motivation as the “middle problem.”Gradually increase the difficulty of the tasks to continue building motivation — you can do this by increasing the time spent on the task (e.g. studying), the intensity (e.g. physical exercise), or by adding another layer of difficulty, such as assigning tighter deadlines. If you have successfully achieved your goal or crossed any type of literal or metaphorical finish line, be mindful of how you reward yourself. Celebrating every small win on the path to a larger goal or over-rewarding after achieving your overall goal can diminish future dopamine responses, leading to a drop in motivation.
| Timestamp | Clip | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 00:48:00 The Chemistry of “I Won, But Now What?” | The Chemistry of “I Won, But Now What?” | How to Increase Motivation & Drive |
| 02:19:54 Tool: “Middle Problem”, Maintaining Motivation | Tool: “Middle Problem”, Maintaining Motivation | Dr. Maya Shankar: How to Shape Your Identity & Goals |
| 01:37:55 Tool 7 Tuning Your Dopamine for Ongoing Motivation | Tool 7 Tuning Your Dopamine for Ongoing Motivation | Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction |
Resources
Articles & Research Papers
- Beliefs about willpower determine the impact of glucose on self-control
- Stress relief as a natural resilience mechanism against depression-like behaviors
- The Will to Persevere Induced by Electrical Stimulation of the Human Cingulate Gyrus
- The Good, the Bad, and the Irrelevant: Neural Mechanisms of Learning Real and Hypothetical Rewards and Effort
Books
- Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
- Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within