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success and develop some skills that are rewarding, you may become
more invested in achieving even when no one irritates you.
Motivation in most school and work situations is based on fear, i.e.
fear of being fired, fear of making a low grade, or fear of having a poor
record. Many students say they work harder in college than high
school because they have been warned about college being hard and
because they are afraid of making C's and D's. Such fears can also be
self-generated by setting demanding goals, such as straight A's or all
A's and B's, and emphasizing to yourself the bad consequences of low
grades.
A competitive spirit will help. Such an attitude comes from setting
reachable goals for yourself and from giving yourself pep talks when
motivation lags.
STEP TWO: A carefully planned approach to the problem is more
likely to be facilitated by emotional energy.
Emotions increase the strength of the strongest response
tendencies. Without careful planning, anger might prompt aggression,
fear might lead to running away or procrastination, etc. But, with
careful, detailed planning of your time, you can probably make
constructive, tactful responses stronger (more likely to occur) than
hurtful, self-defeating responses. Then, using emotions to increase
your motivation should benefit everyone. This means planning what to
do each minute, each hour, each day in order to reach your goal.
Example: if you feel inadequate, you need detailed plans for becoming
adequate or even better than average. If you are aiming for all A's,
you must have the self-discipline and motivation to study 30-40 hours
per week beyond going to classes. That is six hours per day for
studying. That means giving up TV, partying, goofing around, time
with friends, etc. It means being considered a social nerd.
STEP THREE: Use your emotional drive to carry out your plan for
coping.
Whenever you become emotional, think of your schedule and the
plan you have for coping, and use the energy to accomplish your
goals.
Time involved
Very little time is required, unless the planning is extensive.
Common problems with the method
Many people become so absorbed in the emotions that they do not
think to use the emotions constructively.
Effectiveness, advantages, and dangers
