How to feel energized to take action on tasks and goals

Doing the hard work necessary to pursue a goal or accomplish a task is much easier if you are feeling energized. In turn, there are several factors which you can target to feel energized in relation to a goal or a task. I will discuss these factors in the following sections.

Factors which affect how energized you feel regarding a goal or a task

Four factors affecting how energized you feel include:

Competence

You are more likely to feel energized regarding a goal or task if you believe you are competent to perform the task or the actions which will move you toward the achievement of the goal. You are less likely to feel energized if you believe you are lacking in competence.

Interest

You are more likely to feel energized regarding a goal or task if you are interested in the task or goal. You are less likely to feel energized if you lack interest in the task or goal.

Autonomy

You are more likely to feel energized regarding a goal or task if you believe you have freedom of choice regarding accomplishing the task or pursuing the goal. You are less likely to feel energized if you believe you have no freedom of choice.

Connection

You are more likely to feel energized regarding a goal or task if you are working on the task or the goal with supportive people. You are less likely to feel energized if you work on the task or the goal on your own.

Strategies for targeting the four factors

You can target each of these factors to increase feelings of energy. This may apply to you in relation your own goals and tasks. It may also apply to others you are influencing such as your children, students you are teaching, employees you are supervising or players you are coaching.

Competence

You can increase your competence to feel energized by using skills and strategies which have been found to be effective for the task or goal on which you are focused. Your feeling of competence will be enhanced by applying these skills so that you have success experiences.

If you are a parent, coach, teacher, supervisor or other kind of mentor, you can help your child, student, player, employee to learn the skills which will allow them to be effective at the task or goal on which they are focused. Giving them opportunities to succeed at the task or goal will further enhance their feelings of competence. Finally, conveying that you believe they are capable will make it more likely that they will believe they are competent.

Interest

You can increase your interest to feel energized by choosing a goal or task in which you have interest. You can also explore ways to make the goal or task personally relevant to you to enhance your interest.

If you are a parent, coach, teacher, supervisor or other kind of mentor, you can help your child, student, player, or employee explore ways to enhance their interest in the goal or task. For example, my piano teacher lets me choose popular songs to learn to play and sing as a complement to the assigned pieces which are part of the Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum. This enhances my interest in practicing piano which allows me to feel energized in relation to this activity.

Autonomy

You can increase your sense of autonomy to feel energized by ensuring that you have freedom of choice regarding the task or goal on which you are focused.

If you are a parent, coach, teacher, supervisor or other kind of mentor, you can help your child, student, player or employee have a sense of autonomy by providing them with options regarding the goal or task on which they are focused. For example, my piano teacher routinely asks me to choose which pieces and songs I will practice rather than assigning them to me. This leads me to feel energized when I practice.

Connection

You can feel more energized by pursuing your goals in connection with others. You can do this by getting involved with a group working toward the same or similar goals and/or by seeking out the support and guidance of a teacher, coach or mentor.

For example, when I trained for marathons and triathlons I did many of my workouts with other athletes and I worked with a coach who gave me workouts, advice and support. Similarly, I work with a piano teacher and attend regularly scheduled group music performance classes to help me feel energized regarding this goal.

If you are a parent, coach, teacher, supervisor or other kind of mentor, you can help your child, student, player or employee feel more energized by connecting with them yourself or another mentor and providing them with opportunities to connect with others who are pursuing the same or similar goals.

You can read more about how feeling energized affects motivation in Motivation Myth Busters by Drs. Wendy Grolnick, Bejamin Heddy and Frank Worrell.

May you facilitate feeling energized to enhance motivation in yourself and those around you,

-Dr. Pat

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