Demotivation: what is it and what are its types?

This phenomenon is the cause of headaches for many people who feel blocked.

Demotivation is a problem that bases its harmful character on a very simple factWe tend to underestimate it.

Many times, when we analyze the advantages or disadvantages of starting to work on a project, in the side of the possible problems we only include that which has to do with the difficulties that come to us from the environment. For example, a labor market in which there is a lot of competition, an educational path in which we have to go through very demanding filters, or an environment in which it is difficult to receive funding. However, we ignore the fact that we can self-sabotage ourselves.

In order to remedy this type of situation, it is essential to be clear about what demotivation is and what we can do to combat it.

What is demotivation?

To answer this question, let's start by briefly defining what motivation is.

Any activity that we perform, whether consciously or unconsciously, occurs because we have a series of dispositions that lead us to initiate behaviors aimed at reaching a short, medium or long term goal. Motivation is precisely that set of dispositions that act as the driving force behind our actions.. In other words, a series of conditions (formulated as "if p, then I perform q") that bring us closer to a goal when a favorable situation arises.

What then is demotivation? This is the psychological phenomenon in which there is a discrepancy between the goal we theoretically aspire to achieve, on the one hand, and our actual dispositional state, on the other.on the other. That is, it is what happens when there are serious problems when trying to invest enough effort in an initiative to achieve something, or when you do not even get to start that task and fall into procrastination.

Thus, demotivation not only harms us because it is associated with problems in meeting certain expectations; in addition, where it appears we cannot even enjoy the calm or the rest that comes from not doing those activities that in theory we wanted to do. Even if we do not do what is necessary to reach the goal, the mental framework according to which we should be doing it does not disappear.

In short, demotivation brings together the worst of two worlds: the discomfort that could be experienced by someone who despite their efforts has not achieved what they wanted, and the one that is produced by the feeling of guilt.

Types of demotivation

Demotivation can take various formsIt can also present itself with different degrees of intensity. The most problematic or serious cases are those in which this lack of motivation extends to all areas and facets of life: at work, in personal relationships, etc. In these situations, the problem is usually rooted in one of two fundamental causes.

On the one hand, it may be due to an environment that is not very enriching, in which there is no great reason to do anything, in general. For example, an environment in which there is not much freedom, even for economic reasons, and which is not associated with significant opportunities to progress economically or socially, often leads to demotivation in many, if not all, areas of life.

In other cases, there may be a depressive-type disorder that manifests itself, among other things, through a feeling of demotivation, which is actually a conglomeration of symptoms. a conglomerate of symptoms. In the case of diagnosed depression, this lack of initiative or extreme lack of motivation is known as abulia, and often appears together with other phenomena that also hinder the emergence of major sources of motivation; for example, anhedonia, or the inability to feel pleasure (without pleasure, it is difficult to move towards a specific goal).

However, apart from general demotivation, there are also types of demotivation linked to specific contexts. Let us see which are the most common.

School demotivation

The school is an institution in which problems due to student demotivation are frequent. The causes usually have to do, among other things, with the fact that from the first day, class attendance is perceived as an obligation, which generates resistance, and with the lack of individual attention in very large classes, given that it is complicated to adapt the teaching to the interests of each student. it is difficult to adapt the teaching to the interests of each student.. However, it is possible to intervene in many cases and enhance student motivation by modifying certain learning dynamics.

2. Work demotivation

In these cases, demotivation negatively affects both the worker who experiences this phenomenon first-hand and the organization for which he or she works. Interventions in the work environment, in workflow or in the work format can help to solve this. can help to solve this, although in some cases the problem is simply that the fundamental activity carried out in the job is not meaningful to the person.

3. Social demotivation

This type of demotivation appears in cases in which the person is forced to interact with certain social the need to interact with certain social circles, without this being a pleasant or stimulating experiencewithout this being a pleasant or stimulating experience beyond obtaining a very specific benefit unrelated to the nature of the social relationship.

The causes of demotivation

There are as many causes of demotivation as there are life experiences a person is capable of experiencing. It is the task of psychologists to recognize what the problem is in each case although frequent causes are an excess of perfectionism, the perception of a high barrier to entry to that activity, the absence of significant challenges and a sense of progress, etc.

On the other hand, we must bear in mind that demotivation is a contextual phenomenon: it is not located "inside" the person (beyond pathological cases), but has to do with his or her relationship with the world. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to reorganize priorities, let go of some goals and aim for others, instead of doing everything possible to reach objectives that have sometimes been imposed by the company, family, friends, the media, etc.