How to Stay Motivated, Keep New Year's Resolutions, and Set Good Goals with Psychology Professor Wendy Grolnick

Challenge. Change.

Some people are led to believe that they lack motivation. Wendy Grolnick, professor emerita of psychology, wants you to know that’s just not true.

“Motivation is really a function of what situation you're in, what your interests are, how people are treating you, and what your opportunities are — everyone is motivated,” Grolnick says. “The idea is that environments and people who are trying to motivate others need to tap into people's motivation, which is there.”

Grolnick busts the lack-of-motivation myth and other mistruths about productivity in the book “Motivation Myth Busters: Science-Based Strategies to Boost Motivation in Yourself and Others,” co-written with Benjamin Heddy and Frank Worrell.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Grolnick explains strategies to boost motivation when you feel stuck, how to set manageable goals, and tips for sticking to New Year’s resolutions.

“The vast majority of people who make New Year's resolutions don't keep them,” she says. “So, as we start to think about what we want to do in the New Year, it would be best to pick something that has meaning to you and value to you. If you're doing it because you feel pressure to — you feel like you should but don’t want to or somebody is pushing you — the research shows it's not likely to last.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.