In his recently published book Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations Dan Ariely shows how a friend found new motivation at work.
“A young man I know,” writes Dan, “recently took a job at a hospital, disposing of waste and cleaning surgical equipment. After a few months on the job, he found it so boring that he considered quitting. But his mother reminded him that he had one of the most important jobs in the hospital because people in hospitals are especially vulnerable to killer germs like staph. Without his important work, she explained, these patients could easily become sicker and die. This shift in perspective renewed his pride in his job. He performed it with more energy, and not too long afterward he received a promotion.”
What changed things here? A “shift in perspective.” When the young man changed the way he saw his job, his attitude changed automatically. Motivation and energy appeared automatically.
In my book Automatic Influence I describe this automatic power, starting with what I call the See-Feel-Act progression:
The way we “see” automatically influences the way we “feel,” which in turn automatically influences the way we act. Like one domino tipping another, our perception triggers our emotion which triggers our behavior.
The smart strategy for change is, work on the first domino in the line. When we understand how perspective automatically influences emotion and motivation, we respect the power of perspective, and work to change things there.
Most people take the wrong approach to change. They work on their attitudes, which are patterns of emotion in the “Feel” stage of the See-Feel-Act progression. Or they resolve to behave better, putting focus on the “Act” stage of the progression. They try to change things, but work from the wrong stages. So change doesn’t work. They grit their teeth, try to change, then lapse right back into the same attitudes and emotions and motivations as before.
The better way to change is, start with perspective.
Let’s put that to work. How might we see our jobs in a more constructive and meaningful way? In what way is our work helping people live better? What is important about what we do? Let’s find that new view, hold it in our minds, and see how it automatically creates new attitudes and energy.