The Science Of Motivation: How To Make Habits That Actually Stick | T. Morgan Dixon and Dr. Gary Bennett
This episode features Dr. Gary G. Bennett, Dean at Duke University, and T. Morgan Dixon, CEO of Girl Trek, discussing research-backed strategies to overcome inertia and build lasting habits, particularly for physical activity. They cover starting small, social support, finding your 'why,' and tracking progress.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Motivation and Habit Formation
Dr. Bennett's Journey into Motivation Science
Why Sustaining Motivation for Health is Challenging
The Origin Story and Philosophy of GirlTrek
Scientific Principles Behind GirlTrek's Success
The Three Deadly 'I's Hindering Human Progress
Finding Your Intrinsic Motivation and 'Big Why'
The Power of Identity and Community in Behavior Change
The Tubman Doctrine: A Framework for Personal and Collective Action
The Importance of Starting Small and Progressive Goal Setting
Tangible and Profound Benefits of Physical Activity
The Role of Tracking Progress Without Obsession
Auditing Your Energy and Cultivating a 'Feel Good' Mindset
5 Key Concepts
Intrinsic Motivation
Behavior changes driven by personally relevant and meaningful factors are more effective for long-term sustainability. This contrasts with external motivators, which often yield only short-term results.
The Three Deadly I's
A framework developed by GirlTrek to identify root causes of 'stuckness' or immobilization. These are Inactivity (not moving enough), Isolation (loneliness), and Injustice (feeling unfairness and lacking agency to fight back).
Self-Efficacy/Competence
This refers to an individual's confidence in their ability to successfully perform a specific behavior. Building this confidence over time is crucial for sustaining motivation, especially when initial efforts are challenging or uncomfortable.
Self-Monitoring/Tracking
The process of keeping track of one's progress toward a goal to gain feedback and learn from personal data. Effective tracking involves active personal involvement, allowing individuals to discern what strategies work for them.
Push and Pull Factors
A historical and psychological model describing forces that drive human movement or change. 'Push' factors are what one can no longer accept in their current situation, while 'pull' factors are the 'big why' or what truly energizes and draws one forward.
5 Questions Answered
It's challenging due to psychological barriers such as exhaustion, pain, fatigue, stress, and anxiety, as well as practical barriers like work stress, neighborhood safety, and lack of sidewalks. Additionally, the significant health benefits often take three to nine months to become noticeable, making sustained motivation difficult in a world that increasingly prizes sedentary lifestyles.
The most important principles include setting clear and achievable goals, increasing personal autonomy over the process, building confidence in one's ability (self-efficacy), having strong social support from similarly motivated individuals, and receiving regular feedback on progress.
To find your 'why,' consider two questions: 'What can't I accept in my life anymore?' (your push factor) and 'What is my big why? What truly energizes me every morning?' (your pull factor). Framing this as 'what you are walking away from' and 'what you are walking toward' can help rewire your motivation with a stronger, more personal current.
A great starting point is to simply walk out in your neighborhood, as this can naturally lead to meeting new people and connecting with a larger world. Additionally, you can apply the 'Tubman Doctrine' by first finding your own way to a healthier life, and then returning to invite and support others in your community.
Choose a tracking method that works for you and that you can consistently stick with, whether it's a simple day planner, a wearable device, or an app. The key is to have some personal involvement in the tracking process, reflecting on what worked, how you felt, and how to replicate success, rather than solely relying on a device to interpret your data.
13 Actionable Insights
1. Define Your Personal Motivation
Identify what you can no longer tolerate in your life (the ‘push’ factor) and what truly energizes you every morning (the ‘pull’ factor or ‘big why’). Frame your actions around ‘what you are walking away from’ and ‘what you are walking toward’ to create a strong, personal rationale that rewires your motivation.
2. Embrace a New Identity
Instead of focusing solely on what you want to do, consider ‘who you want to be,’ as identity is a stronger driver than behavior. Adopt an identity (e.g., ‘active neighbor,’ ’energized citizen’) and identify the most direct pathway to embody that identity, using your actions as ’lifestyle activism.’
3. Set Small, Attainable Goals
Set small, simple, and straightforward goals that you can realistically achieve, especially if you are currently sedentary. Begin by taking a walk of any length every day for a week, then progressively increase the duration (e.g., 15 minutes, then 20, then 30) to build confidence and avoid negative reinforcement from unmet expectations.
4. Build a Supportive Community
Actively find and engage with others who share similar goals, as social support is critical for building and sustaining motivation. Join walking groups, meetup groups, or simply get outside and greet your neighbors to combat isolation and reinforce healthy behaviors within a community.
5. Practice the Tubman Doctrine
First, walk alone in the direction of your healthiest, most fulfilled life by finding your intrinsic motivation and desired identity. Second, once you find your way, ‘come back and get a sister’ by helping and inviting friends or family who may be struggling to join you. Third, think about people who have your back and schedule appointments with them for accountability. Fourth, make the activity joyful, practical, functional, and sustainable, such as scheduling walking meetings or dates.
6. Engage in Self-Monitoring
Implement a method to track your progress, whether it’s a simple day planner with smiley faces, a wearable device, or a daily mental check-in. The most effective tracking involves your active participation, allowing you to learn from your own data, discern what strategies worked, and plan how to replicate success.
7. Daily Energy Audit
At the end of each day, audit your energy levels and feelings. If you feel good, identify the behaviors that contributed to that positive state and consciously repeat them. If you feel terrible, acknowledge the actions (or inactions) that led to it and adjust accordingly, cultivating a gratitude practice for positive feelings.
8. Connect to a Greater Purpose
Frame your personal health goals within a larger, culturally resonant narrative or cause to deepen motivation and bypass common barriers. Connecting your actions to historical examples of change-making or community service can make the experience feel deeply relevant and spiritually motivating.
9. Prioritize 30 Minutes Movement
Make 30 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, such as a brisk walk, the most important thing you do for your health and longevity. This simple act can profoundly impact health markers, energy levels, sleep quality, and mental well-being, often more reliably than other treatments for conditions like depression.
10. Increase Personal Autonomy
Design your health interventions in a way that gives you more control and involvement over what you’re doing and when. When you are involved in the design of your own behavior change, you are more likely to stick with the new habits long-term.
11. Cultivate Self-Confidence
Understand that building confidence in your ability to perform a new habit takes time, especially if it initially feels uncomfortable or difficult. Persist with the activity long enough to realize ‘I can do this,’ as this growing self-efficacy is crucial for sustained motivation.
12. Find Multi-Benefit Habits
Look for activities that offer multiple benefits beyond the primary goal, such as walking for exercise. These ‘cascading benefits’ (e.g., vitamin D from sunshine, fresh air, meeting neighbors, improved mental health) add layers of positive reinforcement and make the habit more sustainable and enjoyable.
13. Track Without Obsession
While tracking progress is beneficial, be mindful of the pitfall of obsession or orthorexia (an unhealthy obsession with getting healthy). Use tracking as a tool to learn and stay on course, but avoid self-laceration over missed goals or overreacting to daily fluctuations in data.
5 Key Quotes
The most important thing that we can do, in my view, and it's not even really my view, the data I think very clearly shows that one of the most important things we can do to protect our health and extend our longevity is to get out and get active, to just move around.
Dr. Gary Bennett
If you walk outside your front door, just 15 minutes in any direction, turn around and come back to your house. That 30-minute walk, if it were bottled into a miracle drug, would be one of the most effective pills you can take.
T. Morgan Dixon
Rather than what do you want to do, who do you want to be? Because identity is a stronger driver than behavior.
T. Morgan Dixon
Hate can't sustain you. You know, hate can't sustain you. And that's what you're getting at before around the promised land. The other thing is for all of my Christian listeners out there or Buddhist listeners or religious or spiritualist or whatever, I've never felt closer to God when I get outside, like, and I get close to nature and I get to smile at like my elders who are in my community. Like I just feel alive and I feel radically connected to all that is love and all that is life. And so no, hate can't sustain only love can.
T. Morgan Dixon
The good thing about the science on this is that whatever is intrinsically motivating will work. It can be kind of higher order notions of wanting to do things in the service of humanity. It can be, I just want to be sure that I can walk up these stairs.
Dr. Gary Bennett
3 Protocols
The Tubman Doctrine for Personal and Collective Action
T. Morgan Dixon- Walk in the direction of your healthiest, most fulfilled life now; don't wait for anyone, go at it alone if needed, finding your intrinsic motivation and identity.
- When you find the way, come back and get a sister; help others who are struggling to find their motivation, even those you find difficult.
- Think about the people who have your back; identify allies who can hold you accountable and schedule appointments with them.
- Make it joyful, practical, functional, and sustainable; incorporate walking into fun activities like walking meetings or dates.
Dr. Bennett's Three Focus Areas to Overcome Inertia
Dr. Gary Bennett- Develop skills: Think about how and where you can be active in ways that align with your interests and life, such as brisk walking.
- Find support: Seek support from other people in your life, such as a walking group or meetup group.
- Practice self-monitoring/tracking: Keep track of your progress to see how you're doing and maintain momentum towards your goals.
Progressive Goal Setting for Activity
Dr. Gary Bennett- Start with a small, achievable goal, such as walking any length every day for a week.
- Once that goal is consistently met, progressively increase it, for example, walking 15 minutes, then 20, then 30 minutes daily.
- Avoid setting overly ambitious goals initially, as this can lead to not meeting expectations and becoming negatively reinforcing.