ADHD

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Once I achieve I lose motivation (lemmy.ml)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/adhd

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So I've noticed a pattern in my life that I was hoping someone could empathize with.

I've been training for over a year for a physical test that I really want to pass. The other day I tried to do the exercises that I'll have to do in the test and I completed all of them successfully and now I feel that I've lost some of my motivation to get better. It's as if I was trying to prove that I could do it and I feel that I have, although I really haven't since I haven't taken the test. I've noticed this before. A couple years ago I tried really hard to get into a prestigious degree in a reputable university through my own merit. I managed to get in and soon after I lost interest and quit. Has anyone experienced something like this before?

Thank you for your time :)

Ps.: I'm not sure this is related to ADHD, I just figured it might be and the people here might be able to advise me.

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[–] IzzyScissor 8 points 6 months ago

There have been studies on motivation that have similarities to your descriptions. Basically, like you said, if we get a partial reward for a goal, we're less likely to accomplish that goal.

The one I remember had 'telling someone else your goal' as the 'partial reward'. At the end of a day, people who told someone their goal felt closer to accomplishing it, but less motivated to actually work on it. People who didn't tell anyone worked on their goal longer, but also felt like 'they still had a long way to go'.

I think the other part of it was what you said about not wanting to actually do X but prove to yourself that you COULD do X. Once I prove that I COULD.. I'm done. The goal might not be what other people would consider 'done', but my ADHD brain doesn't care. It got dopamine, and now we're moving on to the next topic.