When we perceive that we are competent or improving at a task, we will continue to be motivated by it. When we don't feel competent or good at something, our motivation decreases.
Where we see this:
the most common places we see this is when we are in school. At a young age, we start to see that we learn some topics more easily which feeds into a narrative of competence which will drive us to keep pushing forward. We also have some classes (English and music for me) that don't come as easily. These are the subjects we tend to let fall behind (I would much rather do math problems all day than write a blog post...fortunately for me I enjoy music and I have been able to chip away at singing and playing an instrument)
What we can do with this:
Knowing that we crave competence (either real or perceived) it is important to manage your behaviors into wins. If you feel a high sense of competence, you can take on larger challenges. If you have a lower sense of competence, take on smaller challenges that you can succeed at that will also raise you level of competence.
It is also very helpful to surround yourself with others who are at the same level of competence. If everyone around you is much better than you at something, your perceived competence will be low; if you surround yourself with people who are less competent, your perceived competence will be high. (When I am in the Silicon Valley, I don't feel very computer literate, but when I am back home in Wisconsin, I feel like a computer genius!)
Best,
Andrew
[email protected]
@andrewzimmbd