Four Elements of Determination That Lead to Self-Motivation
Determination is one of the primary emotions that lead to self-motivation. But what makes some people determined and others complacent?
Psychologist and New York Times best-selling author Rick Hanson, Ph.D, provides a simple framework to answer this question. In his book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness, Hanson suggest that there are four elements that dictate one’s determination: resolve, patience, persistence and fierceness.
1. Resolve:
Resolve is an unwavering course of action. But that’s not it. In the case of determination there’s more nuance to resolve that Hanson clarifies. To explain, Hanson compares resolve to navigating a sail boat through choppy wind. To contrast, think about the approach one takes to increase bench press strength. In other words, resolve requires not only the unwavering pursuit of a goal, but also finesse and vision rather than just brute strength and consistency.
2. Patience:
Patience is a much more common term than resolve. However, Hanson provides additional context to what we all have come to know about patience as a virtue. This context starts with one’s motivation to delay gratification in order to earn a greater reward in the future. In addition, Hanson also points out an important aspect of patience is one’s ability to endure pain without “self-medicating” with unhealthy habits such as drugs and other addictions.
3. Persistence:
Out of the four elements of determination, persistence is the most humbling of them all. Hanson suggest that at the core of persistence is knowing and accepting that your hard work may not pay off. However, the act of working hard still “feels honorable and comforting” even in failure. For this reason, one keeps going with small, sustained actions regardless if success or failure is inevitable.
4. Fierceness:
This last element is best described as an innate animal instinct that all humans have the ability to turn on. Hanson describes fierceness as simply one’s primal need to do whatever it takes to survive. Typically, this instinct only kicks in when someone fears for their life or the life of a loved one. However, learning how to turn on this type of intensity to overcome other challenges will elevate one’s self-motivation and resilience.