Demotivation: what is it and what are its types?

Demotivation is a problem that bases its harmful nature on a very simple fact: We tend to underestimate it.

Many times, when we analyze the advantages or disadvantages of starting to work on a project, on the side of possible problems we only include what 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 you have to go through very demanding filters, or an environment in which it is difficult to receive financing. However, we ignore that we can become self-sabotaging.

In order to remedy these types of situations, it is essential to be clear about what demotivation is and what we can do to combat it.

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What is demotivation?

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

Any activity that we carry out, whether consciously or unconsciously, occurs because in us there is a series of provisions that lead us to initiate behaviors aimed at reaching a short, medium or long goal term. The motivation is precisely

that set of provisions that act as the engine of our actions. That is, a series of conditions (formulated in the way "if p, then I perform q") that bring us closer to a goal when a favorable situation occurs.

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, for the other. That is, it is what happens when there are serious problems when trying to invest in an initiative efforts enough to achieve something, or when you don't even get to start that task and you fall into the procrastination.

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

Ultimately, demotivation brings together the worst of two worlds: the discomfort you might experience someone who despite trying has not achieved what he wanted, and the one who is produced by the feeling of guilt.

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Types of demotivation

Demotivation can take several forms, and it can also be presented 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, it is common for the problem to be rooted in one of two root causes.

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

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

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

1. School demotivation

The school is an institution in which problems due to demotivation of students are frequent. The causes usually have to do, among other things, by the fact that from the first day the attendance to class is perceived as an obligation, which generates resistance, and due to the lack of individual attention in very large classes, Given the it is difficult to adapt 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. Job demotivation

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

3. Social demotivation

This type of demotivation appears in cases in which the person sees the need to interact with certain social circles, without this being a pleasant or stimulating experience beyond obtaining a very concrete benefit and alien 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 which is the problem in each case Although frequent causes are an excess of perfectionism, the perception of a great barrier to entry to this activity, the absence of significant challenges and a feeling of progress, etc.

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