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The Keys to Motivation
Lessons from
the SuperMaze.
We used the SuperMaze to learn some
critical lessons about motivation. If we want to maintain our
personal motivation or that of our students and colleagues, here are
six things for us to focus on:
 Short-term Goals
Big, long goals are great...but thinking too far out can de-motivate
us. Break your big goals down into little pieces and make sure that
they have deadlines in the very near future.
Celebrate All Wins
Progress is the goal (not perfection). All students start in
different places and face distinct learning challenges. Each time
that they improve on their personal best, they should be celebrated.
Keep motivated by getting excited about your progress no matter how
small. Eventually the breakthroughs and progress will add up to big
outcomes.
Enroll Others
Stop trying to do everything by yourself. Success is a team sport.
Identify resources that can help and tap into them. Breaking big
responsibilities into little pieces is how major work gets done.
Call Time Outs
When you start to make the same mistake over and over again, or if
the emotion of being successful is causing you to go crazy...call a
time out. Take a breath and get a grip on what you are trying to
accomplish. High emotion can cause intelligence to drop so use a
time out to keep focused and execute your plan.
Acknowledging Others
People who contribute to the success of a team need to be
acknowledged for the good things that they have done. Be sure to
single out students in the classroom for positive behaviors and
outcomes. Set them up to be the role models and give the other
students someone to emulate.
Mistakes = Learning
Everybody makes mistakes. Mistakes are a necessary part of the
learning process. Punishing people for mistakes causes them to quit
and learning stops. Keep people motivated by supporting them after
their mistakes. Make sure that each mistake is turned into valuable
learning.
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