Sometimes effort and hard work gets a bad reputation. We are prone to thinking that if we have to work hard at a particular task or activity, we’re not ‘good’ at the activity. We assume that effortless mastery is the ideal situation.
However, mastery of whatever we love in life tends to come from investing lots of effort over time. The happiest people find joy in the effort of working towards something.
Try to pay attention to everything that’s happening with your child. Notice the things that you can see they’re working hard at. This will help them to see effort as a positive thing and help them to invest in the process (not just the outcome!).
Today’s tip for building intrinsic motivation with your kids is to create a learning environment at home.
What does a learning environment look like? This is a space where play and learning intersect. Make sure that your kids have access to items which stimulate learning, such as books, in these spaces.
Welcome to Spring, April and Intrinsic Motivation at the Umbrella Project. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from inside you instead of from external rewards like money or grades. It’s the pleasure you get from doing something because it is interesting, challenging and absorbing.
Failing to hit the goals, marks or achievements we are hoping for it can be tough and can prevent us from moving forward, especially when the outcome was the only thing we cared about. When we enjoy the process, it takes some of the stress off the end result and makes us feel happier overall. In fact, being intrinsically motivated increases our wellbeing and our success at the end of the day. Building well-being for a lifetime begins from the inside!
