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How to get motivated even when you don’t feel like it

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Build Character

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Motivation is complicated. Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior. But sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby, finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. Why is motivation so fickle? Explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and dig into how these forces contribute to our drive.

Describe a goal or task from your own life that you felt intrinsically motivated to accomplish. How productive were you? Were you able to maintain motivation?

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Watch the video and finish the Think section to complete the lesson.

About Build Character

Character refers to ways of thinking, acting, and feeling that benefit others as well as ourselves. Character is plural—encompassing strengths of heart, mind, and will. Like social and emotional learning, the elements that make up character can be taught, learned and practiced, and we’re here to help. Explore this page to strengthen your kindness, grit, decision making, curiosity, emotional intelligence and more - brought to you by TED-Ed and Character Lab.

Meet The Creators

  • Video created by TED-Ed
  • Lesson Plan created by Hayley Levitt

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