Joel Liu's Library tagged motivation → View Popular

10 Jul 09

Tests done since 1933 show that people who talk about their intentions are less likely to make them happen.

Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you’re less motivated to do the hard work needed.
Four different tests of 63 people found that those who kept their intentions private were more likely to achieve them than those who made them public and were acknowledged by others.

Once you’ve told people of your intentions, it gives you a “premature sense of completeness.”
2 more annotations...
- A related test found that success on one sub-goal (eating healthy meals) reduced efforts on other important sub-goals (going to the gym) for the same reason.
- It may seem unnatural to keep your intentions and plans private, but try it. If you do tell a friend, make sure not to say it as a satisfaction (“I’ve joined a gym and bought running shoes. I’m going to do it!”), but as dissatisfaction (“I want to lose 20 pounds, so kick my ass if I don’t, OK?”)

26 Nov 07

This point is based on the notion that if a geek feels his ability to gain knowledge is hindered he’ll try to find it somewhere else. Let them satisfy their curiosities with the task of picking up the latest technologies and applying them as they see fit. (Even if it’s just for a prototype.)
Don’t hinder their creativity, just let them figure it out. The exception to this is probably in design. You obviously have to define your interfaces between components and have your requirements for the implementation. Let the details get figured out by whoever’s doing the dirty work. You can optimize things later if they aren’t up to par.