Find a Therapist

Search for a mental health professional near you.

Find Local:

Motivation

Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. So figure out what you want, power through the pain period, and start being who you want to be.

Self-Control

Procrastination and Self Control

Students procrastinate, but they might not with better tools.

by Dan Ariely in Predictably Irrational

Baby Steps to Grown-Up Control

Flexing your dieting muscle.

by David Adler

The Limits of Self-Control

Want to quit smoking? Pick up a chocolate habit.

by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. in The Science of Willpower

Giving in to feel good: Why self-regulation fails

Focusing on regulating mood can lead to self-control failure in other areas.

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

Self-regulation failure (Part 2): Willpower is like a muscle

Procrastination: Why willpower fails us.

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

See Also

Setting and Achieving Goals

Living Backward in Time: How to Set Intentions, and Remain Present

Being Present Versus Making Plans

by Michael J. Formica in Enlightened Living

The Goals That Guide Us

Setting objectives can guide us to well-being and success.

by Hara Estroff Marano

On the science of goal-orientation

Changing how science understands human action

by Tad Waddington, Ph.D. in Smarts

Self-regulation failure (Part 1): Goal setting and monitoring

Procrastination: Quintessential self-regulation failure

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

Goal Orientation, Task Difficulty and Task Interest: Effects on setting personal goals

How do task difficulty and interest affect our goal setting?

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

See Also

Get Off Your "But"

Mind Your Body: Doctors' Orders—Without Distress

How to stick to diet, exercise, or worse.

by Jay Dixit

"Don't Delay" Highlights: A Reader's Summary

Blogging about bloggers: A reader's summary of procrastination

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

Secrets of the Big Losers

How to keep the pounds off.

by Jay Dixit

The Difference Between Habit and Discipline

Discipline is not the ability to sweat, but to change.

by Ilana Simons, Ph.D. in The Literary Mind

Self-regulation failure (Part 3): What's motivation got to do with it?

Are you motivated enough?

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

See Also

Motivation Tests

Setting Goals

Are you closer to your dreams, or lost in frustration?
More Tests

The Latest on Motivation

Why is so much emphasis placed on being #1? by John Tauer, Ph.D.
Want Power? A Novel Approach to Acquiring What You Desire (Part II) by LisaMarie Luccioni, M.A., AICI, CIP
You can learn to stretch time and be more creative. by Susan K. Perry, Ph.D.
Why do we pay failed leaders huge sums of money? by Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D.
Diane Gives Herself an "A" - Part One by Margaret Moore
Bubba’s character, talent and intelligence could not have been lower by Robert Wilson
How one company stopped theft by killing the thrill of stealing from them. by Robert I. Sutton
What can you do to strengthen your goal intentions? by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D.
To change a habit, forget "motivation" and get a motivator. by Meg Selig
Counterfactual Thinking in Sports by John Tauer, Ph.D.

Motivation Blogs

Current Issue

Heartbreak and Home Runs: The Power of First Experiences

How early life experiences shape our character.