Please don’t be any more motivated

If you’re a keen learner, if you’re unafraid to chase new challenges, but find yourself struggling to see progress, the problem is not what you’ve heard.

You may be too motivated to succeed.

The most driven fail at new challenges not because they aren’t trying hard enough.

At this point, they’re likely to do one of two things. Stop trying altogether because it’s too painful. They often do so by dismissing the challenge as sour grapes.

Or seek external motivation. Watch Youtube interviews of people who’ve done it. And tell themselves that they just need to try harder. The lift may last an afternoon or more. Soon, they’re back to running aground.

If you find yourself nodding along, let me show you a third way. It’ll get you out of a state of constant anxiety and make the process of learning more fun.

It’s based on the concept of flow. Flow is a period of deep focus where we lose the concept of time. We move on from one task to another unself-consciously, propelled by the energy our own actions generate.

I’m not saying you must get into flow to learn. I’m asking you to use the idea behind it in your learning pursuit.

How? By calibrating the challenge level to your Goldilocks point. Attempt something small first. Get it done. Then move to something bigger, harder. Rahul Vohra from Superhuman calls this setting yourself goals that are ‘achievable and rewarding’.

💡Tip: Do not calibrate your goals to others when you’re starting out. What is a worthy goal for you may be too easy for someone else, or vice-versa.

I remember feeling out of my depth in calculus class at age fifteen. I’m feeling that way right now as I learn how to build a website using no-code tools like Webflow.

Low skill-high challenge causes anxiety. Setting yourself an achievable goal pushes you from anxiety/worry to arousal. This is intrinsic motivation. TED Talks or anything with a rousing background score and a lot of clapping is external motivation.

In learning, action comes first. The reward comes after. If the action’s too hard, you can say goodbye to the reward.

At that point, you don’t need more external motivation. You need a goal you can get to and build on from.

This is the way I’ve arrived at through trial and error. How do you learn?