Demotivation: what is it and what are its types?
Demotivation is a problem that bases its harmful nature on a very simple fact : we tend to underestimate it.
Many times, when we analyze the advantages or disadvantages of starting to work on a project, on the side of possible problems we only include what has to do with the difficulties that come from the environment. For example, a labor market in which there is a lot of competition, an educational trajectory in which it is necessary to go through very demanding filters, or an environment in which it costs to receive financing. However, we obviate that we can become self-sabotaging.
In order to be able to remedy this type of situation, it is essential to be clear about what demotivation is and what we can do to combat it.
- Related article: "Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources"
What is demotivation?
To answer this question, let's begin by briefly defining what motivation is.
Any activity that we do, whether consciously or unconsciously, occurs because in us there are a series of dispositions that lead us to initiate behaviors aimed at reaching a goal in the short, medium or long term. The motivation is just that set of provisions that act as the engine of our actions . That is to say, a series of conditions (formulated in the "if p, then I perform q" mode) that bring us closer to a goal when a propitious situation occurs.
What then is demotivation? This is the psychological phenomenon in which there is a discrepancy between the objective that we theoretically aspire to achieve, on the one hand, and our real dispositional state , for the other. That is, it is what happens when there are serious problems when trying to invest in an initiative enough efforts to achieve something, or when you do not even get to start that task and you fall into procrastination.
Thus, demotivation not only hurts us because it is associated with problems to meet certain expectations; In addition, where it appears, we can not even enjoy the calm or the rest that supposes us not to carry out those activities that in theory we wanted to do. And even if we do not do what is necessary to reach the goal, the mental framework according to which we should be doing that does not disappear.
In short, in the lack of motivation are joined the worst of two worlds: the discomfort that could be experienced by someone who in spite of striving has not achieved what he wanted, and the one that comes from the feeling of guilt.
- Maybe you're interested: "Apathy: symptoms and causes of this feeling"
Types of demotivation
Demotivation can take several forms , and can also be presented with different degrees of intensity. The most problematic or serious cases are those in which this lack of motivation extends to all areas and facets of life: at work, in personal relationships, etc. In these situations, it is common for the problem to be rooted in one of two fundamental causes.
On the one hand, it may be due to a poor environment, in which there are no great reasons to do anything, in general. For example, an environment in which there is not too much freedom, even for economic reasons, and which is not associated with significant opportunities to progress economically or socially, often produces demotivation in many areas of life, if not all.
In other cases, there may be a depressive-type disorder that manifests, among other things, through a sense of demotivation that is actually a conglomerate of symptoms . In the case of diagnosed depression, this lack of initiative or extreme demotivation is known as abulia, and often appears in the hand of other phenomena that also hinder the appearance of great sources of motivation; for example, the anhedonia, or inability to feel pleasure (without pleasure, it is complicated to move for a specific goal).
However, apart from the general demotivation there are also the types of demotivation linked to specific contexts. Let's see which are the most common.
1. School demotivation
The school is an institution where problems due to demotivation of students are frequent. The causes usually have to do, among other things, for the fact that from the first day the attendance to class is perceived as an obligation, which generates resistances, and for the lack of individual attention in very large classes, given that It is complicated to adapt the teaching to the interests of each student . However, it is possible to intervene in many cases and enhance the motivation of students by modifying certain learning dynamics.
2. Labor demotivation
In these cases, demotivation negatively affects both the worker who experiences this phenomenon in the first person, and the organization for which he works. Interventions in work environment, in workflow or in the work format they can help solve this, although in some cases the problem is simply that the fundamental activity that takes place in the post is not meaningful to the person.
3. Social demotivation
This type of demotivation appears in cases in which the person he sees himself in the need to interact with certain social circles , without this being a pleasant or stimulating experience beyond obtaining a very concrete benefit and alien to the nature of the social relationship.
The causes of demotivation
There are as many causes of demotivation as vital experiences a person is capable of experiencing. It is the task of psychologists to recognize what is the problem in each case although frequent causes are an excess of perfectionism, the perception of a great barrier to entry to that activity, the absence of significant challenges and a sense of progress, etc.
On the other hand, we must bear in mind that demotivation is a contextual phenomenon: it is not located in the "interior" of the person (beyond pathological cases), but it has to do with its relationship with the world. For this reason, it is sometimes necessary to reorganize priorities, let go some goals and point to others, instead of doing everything possible to reach goals that have sometimes been imposed by the company, family, friends, the media of communication, etc.
