8 Motivational Myths That Sound Smart — But Secretly Make You Less Productive, According To Psychology
These things will destroy your focus and drain your productivity if you let them.
Perfect Wave | Shutterstock Action is everything — especially consistent action. We can plan till the cows come home, but nothing happens until we act. Research has shown that if you take action without purpose, it can significantly impact productivity by disrupting focus, increasing stress and anxiety, hindering decision-making, and draining mental resources.
I know how easy it is to feel the numbing pain of inaction. I know what I want to do, but I just can’t seem to move and do it. It is paralyzing, and it is frustrating. Here’s why some motivational myths sound smart — but are ineffective — and the true ways you can get yourself going again.
Here are eight motivational myths that sound smart, but secretly make you less productive:
1. Trying to do a lot of things at once
We can only ever do one thing at a time. But if we’re holding several things at the same time in our minds — as we are prone to do — we make it impossible to act.
Instead, we need to narrow our focus to the next thing. This will make it obvious, appear simple, and make action effortless. Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle once said, "Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand."
2. Thinking your value is tied to your success
There is no link between failure and our self-worth. Thinking there is stops us in our tracks. Realizing self-esteem is an illusion we create sets us free and makes action effortless.
Research has shown the importance of fostering self-compassion and reframing failure as a learning opportunity to build resilience and improve productivity. When you feel your self-worth is on the line, especially in situations where you fear negative evaluation, you may become anxious and distracted by self-focus.
3. Waiting to become motivated
Motivation will come once you are in action. Try it for yourself. Even starting something badly will motivate you because you are doing it. Don’t wait any longer, because it ain’t coming. Motivation always comes from doing — not preparing — so act.
One view supported by research is that action leads to motivation, rather than the other way around. When you take that initial step, even a small one, it can create momentum and a sense of accomplishment that fuels further action and strengthens your drive. This is often experienced when, despite lacking the motivation to start a task, you begin anyway and find yourself becoming more engaged as you progress.
4. Relying on dopamine to energize yourself
When we consistently take big artificial hits of dopamine, such as through watching lots of television, adult videos, and even eating sugary treats, we produce less dopamine naturally in the brain. This means that things that should energize us, like writing or enjoying nature, no longer do.
No wonder we can’t take action. We’re dead inside. Take a break from heavy dopamine stimulations and allow your natural dopamine to return and fire you up.
5. Pursuing perfection
We avoid mistakes for good reasons. We want to do it right. But this creates insecurity in every move. We’re thinking too hard about getting it wrong.
Because we don’t want the pain of making a mistake, we avoid action. Instead, be willing to make a mistake. Purposefully do it wrong, like writing garbage before you write the real thing.
6. Assessing your competition
It’s easy to hold back when we see our talented and prolific competition. "It’s been done before, so why bother?" It’s been done, but not by you. The world needs your take, with your unique filter. Don’t let what others are doing stop you.
Research explains that this belief is a manifestation of the false consensus effect, which describes the tendency for individuals to overestimate the extent to which others share their beliefs, values, and behaviors. This happens because people often project their perspectives onto others, leading them to believe their views are more common than they truly are.
7. Trying to get into the right mindset
Adopting various "mindsets," like "think positive," or "just act confident," is good at the macro, but terrible at the micro — in the moment — level. Mindsets don’t matter when we’re trying to take action because they take away from the moment. Instead, let go and just be. You don’t need to do anything. Float in the beauty of the action.
8. Believing in yourself first
This one sounds wild, but it holds us back because we may be waiting for a feeling that doesn’t come. We must put our attention off ourselves if we want to more effortlessly take action.
Focusing on self-belief as a prerequisite for productivity can hinder action, create a cycle of self-doubt and inaction, and even lead to overconfidence in some cases. Instead, research suggests that taking action, setting achievable goals, and building self-efficacy through experience is a more effective way to become productive and develop a stronger sense of self-belief. It's a two-way street: productivity can also enhance self-belief.
The way to do that is to focus on the action. Focus on the step. Focus on the system. That’s all there is. When your focus is here, you can’t help but be driven to move.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. He's the author of the Mastery Den newsletter, which helps people triple their productivity.
