How hard is it to motivate yourself to accomplish things?

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Whether its a simple task, a long term project, or anything you aren't really interested in, how difficult do you find it to motivate yourself to accomplish things?

Can you accomplish tasks and projects just because they are required, or do you have to have some level of internal motivation in order to do it?

If you don't already have an interest in the task or project, can you generate motivation for the requirement, and if so, how do you do it?

If you can think of any other options in the poll I should have included, let me know.

Thanks.

Generally, if I ain't interested, it ain't gonna happen.

Now, to get back to reading the history of every single model of Rolls-Royce...

So, I guess the poll didn't interest you?

Damn! I guess you can't add more options after it's posted. How stupid.

I forgot one:

"I can motivate myself to do something I'm not interested in, IF it's a part of a process to accomplish something that DOES interest me."

No no, I voted in the poll. But the option you came up with there is more fitting for me, actually.

Now, see, if you'd included Rolls-Royces in one of your options, I'd have chosen that one

Oh! Duh! Forgot I have to vote to see it. Now I see it.

If something is required such as school work I can do it, but it usually will take a while. In high school I would always hand things like that in late or occasionally not at all, which is why my grades were not what they could have been.

You said "if it's required" so I voted that one. XD If it's ACTUALLY SUPER NECESSARY.. I can make myself do it. But if it's not really vital, (like some school projects. Most school projects are not totally vital unless I've already failed the class once... or twice... and need to do that project to graduate. *cough* ) I'll have a lot of trouble, aaaand I probably won't do it.

That pretty much matches how I think of things too, but now that you mention it, I hadn't stopped to think that some might interpret "required" to mean "absolutely necessary" by their own standards. If you are on the spectrum, it's more likely that you won't consider something as "required" if you feel it isn't important to yourself.

What I really mean by "required" is that it is either "assigned to you by someone else" as in for a class or job, or that it is part of a process like a class you have to take for a degree.The class may not interest you, but the degree subject might. You may, for example, have to take a history class for a degree in mathematics (there are usually "general education" classes when you go for a degree). You may hate history, but love mathematics enough to push yourself through the class anyway so you can get the mathematics degree and work in your field of interest.

Some may be so disinterested in history, they would rather give up the degree than take the class. Others might force themselves to do it, motivated by the desire for the math degree. Some would have no problem at all doing well in the history class, even if they hate history, and there is no real internal reason to do well in it.

My suspicion is that almost all on the spectrum would have some to much difficulty mustering the motivation to accomplish the task if the subject of the task holds no interest for them.

I think this is one of two core traits of the spectrum about which there is probably little to no debate.

The other, which is of course closely related, is the "Theory of Mind" concept, the lack of which I think is the reason for lack of motivation for things we aren't interested in. I think the lack of motivation part is far stronger on the spectrum, and (on the spectrum) is often (too often) misinterpreted as willful noncooperation and willful refusal to conform. I don't think it is that at all. I think it's a motivation factor. I believe we need to be internally motivated, and that without that internal motivation, we can't do anything. Not "wont," but "CAN'T."

I think the real problem with not accomplishing what "the NT world" expects of us" is more a matter of not being able to find the motivation to do it. Not being able to identify a reason WE should care about accomplishing whatever it is. I'm not at all suggesting that we CANNOT find the motivation. I am suggesting that "just because YOU (the teacher, the boss, whoever) want me to do this, is not a good enough reason. I need to know why I should want to do it." If we can find that internal drive, I don't think there is any stopping us. It's finding that drive that often eludes us.

NT's have a hard time understanding that "because it's expected," or "because that's how it's done" are NOT acceptable reasons for us. I think we need to OWN the task, and need our own reasons for doing it. Without that, the task is meaningless.

That's my theory anyway. So far, in all my own observations of my kids, others on the spectrum I know personally, here in this and other boards, and the results of this survey, so far, all point to the idea as probably being correct.

OMG, soooo hard! I basically need- not only to be obsessed with whatever I am doing- but also someone motivating me to do it.

It depends on what it is and if my lower back is hurting or not.

i voted "great difficulty", in fact in high school i did the math in several classes to figure out if i needed to take the final in order to graduate, i wasnt interested in college anyway so transcripts didnt matter. i ended up taking one final, in english. i skipped finals in all of my other classes and the lowest grade i got was a 73, 70 being needed to pass.

This is me. With my interests being as narrow as they are, I would excel in one little area of a subject at school/college, but be really apathetic towards the other areas.

I can't even select any option. I would say I would lack the motivation to get out of bed if it wasn't for my ADD

Just curious. Can either of you be motivated by someone else?

I don't particularly like it when others try to motivate me. I prefer to find the motivation on my own, and view someone else trying to motivate me as an "invasion," which will usually cause a backfire for them. The only exception might be a good friend trying to motivate me to do something I already want to do, but just never seem to find the time to do.

I don't like to be asked again and again to do things. Or to be rushed into something.

I voted for no way. But it's more complicated than that.

One, interest is irrelevant to whether I can accomplish something. I have just as much trouble accomplishing what I'm interested in.

Two, motivation is irrelevant as well. All the motivation in the world won't help me accomplish something if I am already having trouble.

My problems accomplishing things are due to inertia so extreme it's been diagnosed as a separate but connected movement disorder. In order to accomplish something, something needs to trigger it into action. This can leave me doing things I might or might not be interested in and finding it hard to do other things I might or might not be interested in.