Strategies to Motivate & Promote Positive Behavior Change

We are all intrinsically motivated to be better versions of ourselves because it’s written in our DNA! Our ancestors relied on this instinct to hunt, gather food, and react quickly when predators were nearby. These instincts and quick reactions are all due to dopamine. 

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that alerts your brain that something important is about to happen; it works to guide us toward taking action, whether it be doing something that will make us feel rewarded or avoiding something life-threatening (1). Dopamine, playing a major role in our brain’s reward system, goes hand-in-hand with something we all need to survive: motivation.

Motivation happens when dopamine spikes in the brain, making you anticipate something important like finishing a project or completing a goal (1). Motivation is what helps us achieve health-oriented behaviors and is also part of our mission here at The Plug: to help inspire lasting behavior change. Alas, the modern dilemma that many face is how to set realistic and achievable goals. If finally running that 10k is something you see yourself doing this year, you have to put in some work to get there. Not to worry though! That’s what we’re here to help with. 

According to the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, setting goals for healthy behavioral change is not sufficient enough for behavioral change to occur (2). There are a myriad of reasons why setting goals may not produce the optimal outcome of positive behavioral change; some people struggle with identifying realistic goals, while others have trouble putting their goals into motion (2). Additionally, sometimes people become overly optimistic and underestimate the achievable goals they set. How many times have you been motivated to conjure up a New Year’s resolution only to fall short before January has ended? I think we are all raising our hands here. No goal is ever too big to achieve, but we can’t just take it on all at once and hope for the best. For this reason, it’s important to separate the overarching goal into smaller, tangible pieces that we can realistically work toward. This way, we can avoid the dreaded feeling of burnout. 

Self-efficacy

Convincing ourselves that we want to change is the hardest first step in reaching our goals, and sometimes we can fall into spirals of negative self-talk and doubt. If we’ve failed at those past New Year’s resolutions before, who’s to say that we won’t do it again? According to research, “repeated failure to achieve a goal can result in decreased satisfaction and impaired future performance” (2).

This is where self-efficacy comes in. Self-efficacy, or confidence in one’s ability to reach a desired goal, also influences goal commitment (2). If our goal is to start on a new diet, self-efficacy is going to be the key contributor to our success because, at the end of the day, we are our own support system. Leveraging our minds to respond positively to our goals is how we optimize our positive behavioral changes for lasting functionality. What does this look like?

What we feed our minds can indeed change the perceptions that we have about ourselves. One important way that we can be kinder to ourselves is through self-affirmations. Telling ourselves positive and empowering statements can help us challenge any negative thinking that may come our way. So when you wake up in the morning, remind yourself that you are a powerful human being and are improving yourself each day. Try doing so before you go to bed too! Psychologists recommend this practice because eventually, positive thoughts can transform your cognitive patterns and diminish negative thoughts (3). 

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym used in the worlds of both business and health to help guide people's goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals can be used to help an individual gain clarity about their ideas and focus on what’s important about each of their goals. Now let's walk through each letter in the acronym; grab a pen and paper and follow along!

S - Specific

What exactly is the goal you’re trying to achieve? Just saying that you want to improve your liver health is too broad. Instead, you must narrow your focus to be more specific. A more specific goal would be, “I want to start cleansing my liver by drinking The Plug and eating one cup of fruits and vegetables daily.” This way, you’re more specific about what you’re eating and drinking each day. 

M - Measurable

What is the indicator that this goal has been achieved? Will it take days, weeks, or months? If you’re considering the goal of optimal liver health, you could change your goal to “I want to eat one cup of fruit for breakfast, have one cup of veggies at dinner, and take The Plug Drink before I go to bed for at least five days per week for one month.” You’ve outlined and measured exactly how long it will take until a milestone has been reached. 

A - Attainable

Is this goal realistic? Can you achieve it? What tools and resources do you have to make this happen? If you don’t have the necessary recipes or adequate cooking utensils to create the liver friendly meals you desire, then this goal cannot be attainable. Either you attempt to make your goal attainable (by gathering a list of recipes and purchasing the utensils/ingredients you need) or aim to work with what you already have on deck to make your goal a reality. Your goal should challenge you yet never be unrealistic or impossible. 

R - Relevant

Is your current goal something that aligns with your long-term goals? How will this help you in the end? Sometimes along the way in your health journey, you end up acquiring other habits that might not be relevant to your overall health goal. You might develop other good habits like exercising more, but eventually, that strays away from the main goal of eating healthier for improved liver health. If you find that you’ve wandered away from your original goal, that’s perfectly fine! With some planning, you can incorporate other practices while still maintaining the path you’ve started on. 

T - Time-Bound

When will you likely accomplish the goal? Setting an end date to when you would like to see certain progress achieved is ideal so you can plan accordingly. This includes planning smaller day-to-day tasks like meal prepping or exercising three days per week. When you reach your end date, make sure to reevaluate your progress and determine if your desired goals have been achieved.

If we start by asking ourselves these necessary questions, progress will be achieved in no time! And even if it does take a while to see any progress, that’s still okay – a step in the right direction is all that matters. This is where motivation plays a big role.

What Keeps the PlugFAM Motivated?

We asked our fellow Plug fanatics what inspires them when it comes to staying motivated, and their responses were quite insightful. 

A common thread found among respondents was that family and friends were the main form of support and inspiration. Research has shown that collaborative problem solving, especially amongst trusted individuals, can lead to better outcomes (4). It’s no wonder that in times of doubt, we rely on those dearest to us to lend a helping hand. 

During this process, we were elated to see how diverse the respondents’ self-care rituals were. One person said that their favorite things to do were skating and creating artistic collages. Others said that time at the gym helped them unwind and binging movies or TV shows was the perfect way to relax.

Lastly, there was one comment that stuck out to us the most: “Life is a buffet; you just have to serve yourself.” There are so many opportunities in life that we cannot yet fathom, and we shouldn’t let fear hold us back or hinder us from working toward positive change. There are plenty of meals in life’s buffet, and we need to trust ourselves to be brave and try out something new. 

The Final Word

Our community is composed of individuals with high self-efficacy and an attitude to always be better than they were yesterday. It is highly recommended to surround ourselves with optimistic individuals, working toward better versions of themselves who can offer their support when we need it most. 

If you would like to meet and connect with more inspiring individuals, look no further than our Exclusive PlugFAM Facebook Group page! 

Bibliography

1. Lee K. Your Brain on Dopamine: The Science of Motivation [Internet]. I Done This. Updated 2023 Oct 24. Available from:

http://blog.idonethis.com/the-science-of-motivation-your-brain-on-dopamine/

2. Bailey RR. Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine [Internet]. 2017 Sept 13;13(6):615–618. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6796229/

3. Chiu A. How to make self-affirmation work, based on science [Internet]. The Washington Post. 2022 May 2. Available from:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/05/02/do-self-affirmations-work/ 

4. We know teamwork is important, but how important? [Internet]. It’s Your Yale: Yale University. Available from: https://your.yale.edu/we-know-teamwork-important-how-important