Why do we keep trying?

Some people have the innate tendency to try the tough, the greater risk. While some try for the smaller ones. Whoever it is, we humans try to take the next step. Have you ever thought about why we want to try, why we feel like it is important for us to be driven and keep going however small the step is.

Coming back to the sentence I started with, many people who are unable to take the bigger risks and decisions experience what we call lack of ‘choice’ and ‘autonomy’. The reasons can be many; financial, family, professional and/or societal restrictions which have the ability to lower the individual’s autonomy to make a decision. Acknowledging that this becomes difficult to come out from and freely choose, some do decide to withdraw from/fight the situation that causes the lack of choice just so they can work towards their objectives. This withdrawal and/fight can sometimes also take place subconsciously or instinctively leading to not being aware for very long till the outcome has taken place.

Why do humans keep trying can be answered through research from a great psychologist, Albert Bandura, who expressed, “The day you were born everything you did was because you wanted something from it.” But, this fails to explain why we keep tending towards the task again and again even when there is failure involved.

(Digging in his work further we find...)

We are aware that there is a consequence followed by our actions and we usually try to perceive the positive consequence which motivates us to act towards it. He talks about one of his immensely popular term called ‘Self-Efficacy’ meaning that the person feels they have the ability to accomplish a task. This is where we tend to be motivated by the emotion that we are capable of taking up and completing task/s. This develops a drive in a lot of us with visible restrictions as discussed above to fight the lack of choice or other hurdles in order to attain that consequence.

But this does not mean that trying could lead to the positive results at all times. This adds to the other reason why we still keep going, which is, our want to avoid the negative consequences. Many of us are taught from an early age to play ‘safe’, to avoid failures and negative outcomes’ engraving a sense of drive to keep trying to stop that negative result from nearing.

This works in a similar manner and most of you reading might have already recognised which reason usually drives you.

So, what is that which could motivate us to work towards a positive result?

It is generally our own perception. Perceptions we hold are like mirrors to the world. Whatever we perceive comes from the ways we experienced growing up and defining how the world looks for us. A simple example can be, if a young child is taught to be ‘obedient’ to authority (age/position) to a level that they are severely punished time and again for questioning them could create a view that not looking for reasons to the ways system work can be helpful in avoiding negative consequences. While this perception may be helpful for some in protecting themselves from the exposure of negative outcomes others who are taught differently could feel suffocated in adopting these views.

So, one of the major sources, education and training play an integral role to carve/amplify the reasoning that positive results can be attained. This can create a perception that trying and taking the risk may enhance our competence to take action while accepting that failures can be a part of that process. This could motivate us to work towards the positive consequences we want and not with a view of avoiding the negative ones.

Education and training means ‘support’ and ‘interdependence’. This can be from friends, family, partner/s, mentors, idols and even the government that have the ability to increase a sense of ‘self-efficacy’ in us. This is one of the major reasons which help form perceptions that can lead to a drive to accomplish individual and community goals.

Resources

Bandura, A., Freeman, W.H. and Lightsey, R. (1999). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, [online] 13(2), pp.158–166. doi:10.1891/0889-8391.13.2.158.

Perception of success and its effect on small firm performance | Emerald Insight. (2013). Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, [online] 14(4), pp.689–701. doi:10.1108\/jsbed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxpKhIbr0E&ab_channel=TEDxTalks- The psychology of self-motivation, Scott Geller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMjvjw_LRHU&ab_channel=FutureofStoryTelling- The Neuroscience of Perception