The Psychology Of Human Motivation - Ayelet Fishbach

Saying that I don't have enough willpower, well, uh, you know, no one has enough willpower. The problem with self-control is that first, we need to identify that there is a problem. (laughs) Okay? We need to identify a conflict. And the second challenge is doing something about it once you realize that this is a behavior, uh, that you want to change. (wind blows)

Ayelet Fishback, welcome to the show.

Uh, thanks for having me. Excited to be here today.

Given the fact that we are midway through March now, how many people do you think have failed at their New Year's resolutions by this point?

(laughs) Uh, well, uh, we have the data from last year. Um, I would say, uh, uh, about a, a quarter, uh, maybe a little bit more. So it's not true that everybody ditched their resolutions. Uh, that's just not the case. But, uh, uh, many did, and by November, we expect most people to drop their resolutions. So by then, we expect only like 25% to still do it till the end of the year.

I'm, I'm surprised that 75% of people are still holding on in March. I would have thought there would have been more of a drop-off by then.

(laughs) Well, I, I don't, I don't know about this year. I know what, uh, like the previous d- data that we looked at. Uh, uh, and let's say they didn't lose hope, okay? They are still doing it, okay? They are still, uh, uh, trying. They're probably not doing as much as they planned, but who doesn't?

What determines whether someone sticks to a resolution or not?

Uh, intrinsic motivation. Uh, that is, uh, uh, how much it feels good at the moment. It feels right, okay? They enjoy doing it, they're excited doing it. And, uh, and it's a bit surprising because the reason we set a resolution is not, uh, uh, because we enjoy doing it, okay? Like, we, we set a resolution not because it's fun to do. We don't set to eat more ice cream and watch more TV in 2022. Uh, we set a resolution that is something that's important for us. And, uh, for most people in America, that would be health-related goals, so that's about 60% of their resolutions. Um, then the second one is anything related to finance, like getting a job, sticking to my job, saving more money, and, uh, th- then we have a few, uh, others. These are not necessarily the things that people are excited to do because it's fun. And nevertheless, what predicts is how much it feels good at the moment that you pursue that resolution.

Wouldn't that mean that it's basically impossible to complete a resolution which wasn't fun in the moment?

Uh, yes, that is, uh, unfortunately the, the case. Now, it's, uh, you know, some, some people set really short-term goals. Okay? Like, I, uh, you know, I need to, uh, uh, uh, do some medical checkup. And yeah, you can do that even if it's not fun, okay? You just, uh, go there and you do it and it's over. Uh, but this is not the typical resolution. The typical resolution is to eat, eat healthier food or to exercise more. And, uh, if it's not fun, that's not going to work.