The Variability of Motivation and Self-Control: Why is it so hard to stay motivated to enact positive habit changes?

The Variability of Motivation and Self-Control: Why is it so hard to stay motivated to enact positive habit changes?

(Please note that this article does not constitute therapy and is not a replacement for therapy. It is for informational purposes only. )

A hypothetical Scenario

Let’s explore a hypothetical scenario with a fictional character.  Ash has developed the habit of shopping online for clothes every week. Their clothing expense adds up to about $300 by the end of each month.   One day, Ash thinks to themself about how they already have an abundance of good clothing.  They do not have an abundance of money to spend on non-essential items. Rent and utilities are coming due and money is tight.  Ash logically understands their situation and makes the commitment to utilize the clothing they already have rather than spending money on clothing they want but don’t need.  Ash feels highly motivate to follow through on this commitment.  

An hour after making this commitment, Ash opens the Amazon app on their phone, scrolls through some clothing, and finds a cute shirt that they want. Then they buy the shirt. In the moment, making the purchase feels great.  Later Ash feels upset with themself for being so quick to deviate from their commitment.

 Why did Ash deviate so quickly from their commitment to stop spending money on clothing they don’t need?  Is this scenario familiar to you?  Maybe for you it didn’t have anything to do with buying clothes. Perhaps the details were different, but have you experienced similar? To understand what happened, we must look into the functioning of the brain. 

Where Reason and planning happen:

              If you consider the physical organ of the brain, the lower portions, for the most part, are the oldest in evolutionary terms with the physically highest being the most recent and most complex developments (Maté, 2010).  The frontal cortex is among the most recent evolutionary developments (Maté, 2010) Gabor Mate’, in his book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, states, “It is a simplification but an accurate one, to say that the frontal cortex – and particularly its prefrontal portions – acts as the executive officer of the brain” (Mate’, 2010, P.176)  It is within the prefrontal cortex, that Ash, in our hypothetical scenario, is weighing their financial options and making the commitment to stop spending money on clothing they don’t need, (Maté, 2010). Please recall that, after making this decision, Ash is 100% motivated to follow through on their logical plan to engage in behavior changes that pertain to their financial spending. Ash’s prefrontal cortex is engaged and leading their path forward.

In our scenario, when Ash opens the Amazon app and looks at shirts, the potential of a new shirt is perceived by Ash’s Seeking System as a novel “reward” (Panksepp & Biven, 2012). Panksepp and Biven, in their book, The Archeology of the Mind,  describe that the Seeking System is “driven by brain dopamine but is much more than just the creation of that one energizing neurotransmitter” (Panksepp & Biven, 2012, p. 153). They go on to say, “In fact, this is the ancient brain system that allows us and all other animals to gather all the rewards of the world” (Panksepp & Biven, 2012, p. 153). As Ash contemplates the shirts on Amazon, they experience anticipatory dopamine. When they purchase a shirt, they are rewarded with a larger burst of dopamine. Panksepp and Biven (2012) relay how it Is not uncommon for a person’s seeking system to “urge us to indulge in a wide range of activities without our stopping to carefully consider what we are doing” (Panksepp & Biven, 2012, p. 150). This quote alludes to how when flooded with dopamine, our brains will shift from being driven be the frontal cortex to being driven on autopilot or by habit.

 My friend Dr. Ewing, who is medical director for UW and Meriter hospitals in Madison, has eloquently stated on multiple occasions that habit lives in the Basil Ganglia.   So, when Ash’s Seeking System is activated by the novelty of a potential new shirt, their brain’s production of dopamine suppresses the functioning of the pre-frontal cortex causing Ash’s commitment and logic to go by the way side. Instead, Ash shifts to habit, enjoys the dopamine, and purchases a shirt.

In Johathan Haidt’s book, The Happiness Hypothesis (2006), he describes this shift from logic to habit with a metaphor through which the frontal cortex is a rider on an elephant and the rest of the brain is the elephant. The rider of the elephant can possess all the conviction and will power in the world but the elephant may not agree and the elephant is much bigger and, in terms of evolution, much older (Haidt, 2006). In our scenario, Ash’s elephant rider sincerely felt motivated to change their behavior but Ash’s elephant disagreed and did as they wished. When Ash’s frontal cortex shifted back to leading, Ash felt discouraged and disappointed in themself.  They berated themselves for “having no self-control” and called themselves all sorts of mean names.  Yet, what happened within Ash is something that happens in us all.  Like all the rest of us, Ash was functioning like a human. I would say to Ash, “please be gentle with yourself. All is not lost.  You are not a failure”.

So What Can We Do?

The rider and elephant can learn to work together.  Our Frontal Cortex can kindly and compassionately train the rest of the brain.  It takes patience, planning, and respect for one’s whole being. The guidance of a therapist can be helpful.  There are a multitude of coping skills to be learned and utilized. There are nervous system regulation techniques cognitive reframing techniques, and resourcing techniques.  All is not lost.  You are not a failure.  You are a human worthy of gentleness, compassion, and the guidance of your own wise frontal cortex. Your rider and elephant can learn to be partners.   

References:

Gabor Maté. (2010). In the realm of hungry ghosts: Close encounters with addiction. North Atlantic Books.

Jonathan Haidt. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. Basic Books.

Panksepp, J., & Biven, L. (2012). The archaeology of mind: Neuroevolutionary origins of human emotions. W. W. Norton & Company.