Live Broadcast: Rough Jottings and Subtle Influence
Yesterday, the author attended Confidence Live, a thought-provoking event hosted by Pixie Polite and Professor Doctor Kieran Fenby-Hulse. The event was filled with inspiring speeches, captivating performances, and insightful conversations that left a lasting impact.
Kira Matthews, one of the speakers, encouraged the audience to "leave room for doubt" and question their assumptions. She also suggested reframing questions to seek advice from others. Another speaker, Nicola Griffiths, introduced the idea of two systems in the brain: Executive and Autopilot. She also offered the concept of "Activation before Motivation," suggesting to just start a task, even if it's messy.
The "Activation Before Motivation" concept emphasizes the importance of taking initial action (activation) even before one feels fully motivated. This approach is especially useful in overcoming procrastination and inertia, encouraging individuals to start actively instead of waiting for motivation to emerge spontaneously.
Nicola Griffiths also discussed executive function and offered the concept of Ideal, Fall-back, and Bare minimum plans. These plans help individuals to be prepared for various outcomes and to maintain flexibility in their approach.
Between sessions, there were conversations filled with soft and scrappy interactions, creating tiny threads of connection. Confidence can also show up in shared stories over wine, in the in-between spaces, when the glitter's starting to settle and everyone's just a little more themselves. The author left the event with a full heart, a mess of scribbles, and a steadier kind of confidence.
Motivation is not just a precursor to action but also something that can be built or reinforced by taking action early. This aligns with motivational psychology theories that suggest behaviors can influence emotional and cognitive states that underlie motivation. On a neurological level, anticipation and initial engagement activate the brain’s reward system (dopamine pathways like the ventral tegmental area), which drives motivation by creating feelings of reward even before full achievement.
Therefore, doing something first—even a small step—can create a positive feedback loop, engaging brain reward circuits and increasing motivation to continue. In summary, the "Activation Before Motivation" concept highlights that initiating action is a vital step to stimulate and sustain motivation, making progress and confidence more attainable by bridging the gap between goal-setting and persistent effort.
The event was concluded by Sue Perkins with a closing full of warmth, wit, and just enough weirdness. The author ended the day with drinks and laughter in the company of Pixie and Kieran.
References:
- Activation is the third step in the motivation process where intention turns into action.
- Motivation includes emotions like hope and self-efficacy which are influenced by learning and behavior.
- Brain reward systems respond to anticipation and early engagement, boosting motivation.
My next lifestyle change will be adopting an approach of 'Activation before Motivation' in my home-and-garden tasks, particularly in my sustainable-living endeavors. This strategy aligns with motivational psychology theories, suggesting that initiating action can stimulate and sustain motivation, ultimately making progress and confidence more attainable.
