Shaping the Perception of Progress to Unlock a Child’s Motivation
Perception is how we process our thoughts to create our reality. Although perception is not reality and instead is one’s interpretation of reality, perception does still create one’s reality.
The age-old metaphor of viewing the glass half empty or half full is the classic example of perception creating one’s reality. The reality of the person who views the glass half full is one of abundance. While the reality of the person who views the glass half empty is one of scarcity. In short, perception is one of the 5 critical elements of mindset that profoundly affects the way you lead your life.
When it comes to motivation, there is one perception in particular that has a major impact. The perception of progress. Research supports that progress amplifies motivation, even when the progress is an illusion or as researchers call it “Illusionary goal progress.” As a result, a parent who learns how to shape how their child perceives progress towards learning a skill or mastering a concept has the ability to also influence motivation.
How Parents Can Shape the Perception of Progress
To shape the perception of progress and in turn influence motivation, parents can work on becoming better at two things. First, parents must get better at breaking down big goals into smaller more manageable goals. This requires the use of goal progression techniques that use routines to move gradually towards a more advanced state.
Second, parents must get better at using tools to measure progress. The tool could be as simple as a checklist or as complex as an app that measures time, distance, and pace. What’s more, when progress is not easily measured, progress can instead be tracked in the elements of discovery. For example, discovering what works and what doesn’t, discovering processes that deliver repeatable results, or even discovering one’s strengths.
Parents can use any of these things to represent progress forward towards a meaningful milestone. What’s more, whether using a checklist, app, or discovery, goal progression techniques can still be used to shape the perception of progress.
Once a parent gets good at doing these things to shape the perception of progress, unlocking a child’s motivation becomes far easier.