Just-In-Time PM #19: Explosive Inspiration

In Part 18, I introduced the idea that our states of mind come and go in “waves of motivation,” and that we should try to use them to our advantage, instead of forcing our mind to conform to our will.

A “motivational state” is more colloquially known as a “mood.” Moods usually have a negative connotation when it comes to productivity. Feeling “moody” is generally not considered a desirable thing while working. Often we don’t feel “in the mood” to do something we know we have to do, and we find ourselves at war with our emotions. That isn’t exactly the best environment for creativity.

But what is the function of moods in humans? What role do they play in helping us adapt and survive?

An intriguing answer is suggested by this paper: that the function of moods is to create momentum in the mind.

In nature, sources of reward are correlated: if you find three juicy fruits in a short period of time, that is probably not random. It probably means it is spring, and you are in a grove of fruit trees, and it’s rained recently, and there are a lot of other fruits around, and most importantly…you should get your butt in gear and collect as much fruit as you can before it’s gone!

In other words, moods drive us to act opportunistically – to do more of what’s already working. Our brain extrapolates that what has just happened will keep happening, forms expectations of the rewards it will encounter, generating anticipation, which is the key motivator of action.

This is the source of the advice to “fake it till you make it,” which absolutely works. We can essentially trick ourselves into a certain mood by creating a series of small wins, which put us “in the mood” to pursue even more, which generates more wins, which further puts us in the mood. By taking some action, however superficial or insecure, you “prime the pump” of your emotions in a certain direction. Action primes emotion, and then emotion primes further action, in a feedback loop.

In this view, motivation is not a fixed character trait. It is a fluctuating psychological resource, which is in line with the latest research on “psychological capital.”

Positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who also first described states of flow, noted that psychological capital “is developed through a pattern of investment of psychic resources that results in obtaining experiential rewards from the present moment while also increasing the likelihood of future benefit.”