How to Stay Motivated, When You Feel Like Giving Up
Table of Contents
How To Stay Motivated (Plus 5 Tips)
Studies have proven scientifically that the belief in the power for an individual to have control over their own life, has benefitted one’s mental and physical health. Two studies were conducted between a group of chronically ill adolescents and a group of subjects struggling with depression. The term locus of control is used in both studies to show the impact of the subjects’ belief in their destiny to be controlled by their own beliefs. The internal and external locus of control is examined in both studies. This post will teach you why believing in yourself is so important in overcoming hurdles and how to stay motivated.
Positivity is Powerful
People believe either events in their life or situations happen to them or they are in control of what happens to their lives. The belief that individuals can control their fate is called the internal-locus of control.
In contrast, the external-locus of control is the belief that things just happen. (Aronson, Wilson, & Sommers, 2019)
A woman I know lived an extremely healthy lifestyle, she had a strong faith in God and in her mid-to-late forties. She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in her brain, liver, and lungs. This woman is the mother of two young boys and was married to my former boss. She was given a few months to live, as her cancer was so far along, doctors told her there was nothing they could do. With the help of holistic medicine (using only resources that God put on this earth, such as food and herbs).
In addition to having a strong internal locus of control, believing that through God and her willingness to accept she has control over her life.
She is still alive and healthy, years after this horrific diagnosis. She was given a second chance, to be able to disciple others and teach the healing power of believing there is power in the name of Jesus.
One of the biggest things they said was, “no matter the method of treatment you decide on, you must believe it will work”.
Steven Greer performed a survey of women with breast cancer and those that were in the denial or fighting spirit stage only 35% died after 15 years. In contrast to the other groups, 76% died that felt anxious or helpless/hopeless. (Cashion, Shriner, Shriner, & Mossler, 2019)
Youth Readiness With Chronic Conditions
A survey was done for youth ages six to 17 the survey measured locus of control and readiness to transition. In addition, the parents filled out a missed school day form. The study was done on campers with diseases such as cancer, spina bifida, diabetes, and sickle cell diseases.
“Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale” was used to test the patient’s internal locus of control and their external (from doctors and parents) locus of control.
This form is an 18-item questionnaire that is evaluated on a 5-point Likert Scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. “960 participants of parent-campers were a part of the study, 260 parents and 176 campers completed the survey.” (Nazareth, et al., 2016)
The correlations of weekly injections/ daily medications with the locus of control. Out of this group, 65% were privately insured and 47.9% were boys and 52.1% were girls.
More Likely to Learn Self-Management Skills
Youth with an internal locus of control did not let their disease course rely on others, and were more likely to learn self-management skills. There was no significant correlation between the locus of control and the school absences or medication adherence. Partially due to the fact that parents decided whether students were staying home from school or not. (Nazareth, et al., 2016)
Medication adherence can be dramatically affected by parental guidance in a child’s life. The study showed that youth who had a higher external locus of control relied on the use of other people or additional health services such as a higher amount of ED visits.
What Happened
Therefore, the patients with an internal locus of control had improved outcomes and those with an external locus of control had poorer outcomes. Healthcare providers can impact the patient’s locus of control to prevent negative outcomes. In turn, teaching patients how to stay motivated and keep a positive attitude.
Since youth are not as developed cognitively as adults, the study shows that youth are better candidates for improving their internal locus of control. The evidence supports that the patients being observed were more likely to transition to adult care when they were ready to.
When they believed they had an internal locus of control. Therefore supporting the definition of internal versus external locus of control.
Locus of Control
Desire to be in Control & the Depression Correlation
Furthermore, another study was done evaluating the desire for control, locus of control, and their correlation to depression. This study was done to evaluate the impact of the belief of control we have in our lives and the individuals’ own relationships with depression in correlation to their own personal beliefs.
All three measurements were taken from the subjects and then they were evaluated six months later on their experience with depression during the six months of the study.
Why a Bad Attitude Causes More Disease & Depression
71% of subjects with a higher external locus of control, believing their lives happened more by chance than their own decisions. Had higher levels of depression, according to the scores reported.
The individuals with the highest desire for control looked for nonprofessional help for their depression. In addition to the individuals with the lower external locus of control were also more prone to suicidal thoughts. (Burger, 1984)
Individuals in both studies showed that simply believing their health and events in their life happened by chance, were depressed and sicker. Individuals that believe that they can influence their environment to cause positive or negative outcomes are referred to as perceived control. (Aronson, Wilson, & Sommers, 2019) This is how to stay motivated can extend your life.
This study is an example of the previously defined external locus of control, the subjects who did not believe in their involvement in their own life’s destiny were depressed and miserable.
Biblical View on the Studies
(2 Corinthians 5:7) says that we are to “ live by faith and not by sight”.
Therefore this aligns with the evidence presented in both studies. That individuals who believed they had control over their outcomes, actually did have more control over their outcomes.
As Christians, we believe that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18)
Studies have shown that faith therapy can bring healing to individuals suffering from different health concerns.
A case study was performed in the Netherlands on the healing of faith therapy to try to explain the unexplainable or remarkable healing after prayer. The healing of subjects was reviewed by the research team’s medical practices and their vicinity. (Kruijthoff, van der Kooi, Glas, & Abma, 2017)
Meanwhile, when researching this topic of internal locus of control, PubMed offered 40,000 studies relating to the topic. Therefore there is a curiosity in how the “unseen” is possible, similar to the words in the bible.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”. (1 Peter 1:8)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) These verses further express the importance God puts in the faith in him during the unknown.
Nothing is Unplanned
These studies support biblical advice, even for non-believers the evidence shows that life does not happen just by chance. Yet God planned out every aspect of every individual’s life and nothing comes as a surprise to Christ.
“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5″ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5) If you would like more biblical inspiration here are 20 Anxiety Bible Verses.
We Can Control Our Outcome
The significance of believing in a locus of control internal over an external control has been tested by researchers numerous times.
Including the effects, it has on adolescents with chronic health disorders and subjects struggling with depression. The bible makes it clear that nothing in our lives is a surprise to God or is unplanned. Therefore with the belief that we as individuals can control our lives with faith in God, we can positively impact it and even extend the length of time we have on earth.
The adolescents felt more empowered in their health when they had an internal locus of control and would be a great focus for a similar study in the future. The individuals who believed that life happened by chance had higher reportings of depression and even to the point of suicidal thoughts.
How to Stay Motivated [5 Tips]
- Write out your goals. Short-term & long-term goals. Actually write them so you can visualize the goals. I like using a planning/ scheduling app or using a journal/planner.
- Think of what accomplishing those goals will do for you! ( You can pay off your house, have more energy to play with your kids, leave that job you hate, finish that degree, etc.
- Out of sight, out of mind. I keep my goals in my view. For example, my computer screen has a list of all the major accomplishments I hope for. Such as finishing my degree this year, getting my Ph.D., etc.
- Research the potential your goal could take you to. To keep me motivated in my school work, I like to look up salaries or job postings for a psychologist. Next, I envision how sacrificing a few years could lead to 10x the amount of years of a higher salary and freedom I am aiming for.
- Hit unfollow. Unfollow all of the people on your social media that don’t inspire you to be a better person or get closer to your goals. If they are ahead of you, but make you feel inferior or less than. Then unfollow them! You will be happier following people in your own community/place in life. Or those that are real and treat you like a friend!
**Bonus Tip**
Speak it into existence. Say out loud and truly believe it in your heart that you can and will accomplish those goals. Use “when I do “ statements instead of “if I do”.
If you would like to learn more about figuring out your path in life, staying focused, and finding more hope. Please check out my VERY affordable book “Living Fearlessly” on Amazon.com. Similarly, I go over how to find more meaning in your life, how to use psychology to change your way of thinking and improve your overall joy in life!
Thanks for reading!
-Love
References
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Burger, J. M. (1984, March). Desire for control, locus of control, and proneness to depression. Retrieved March 23, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6533279
Cashion, V., Shriner, B., Shriner, M., & Mossler, R. (2019). Lifespan 360: A Christian Perspective on Human Development (2nd ). Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781524987374/cfi/6/26!/4/2/2/8@0:0
Kruijthoff, D. J., van der Kooi, C., Glas, G., & Abma, T. A. (2017). Prayer Healing: A Case Study Research Protocol. Retrieved March 23, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28987036
Nazareth, M., Richards, J., Javalkar, K., Haberman, C., Zhong, Y., Rak, E., … van Tilburg, M. A. L. (2016, July 21). Relating Health Locus of Control to Health Care Use, Adherence, and Transition Readiness Among Youths With Chronic Conditions, North Carolina, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4956478/
Originally posted 2020-05-19 08:30:03.
Megan Santiago
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