How Thoughts Shape Motivation: The Cognitive Approach to Motivation

Why do we sometimes fail to achieve the goals we set for ourselves? It's a common frustration, and it points to a fascinating area of psychology: the cognitive side of motivation. Beyond primal drives and biological needs, our internal mental world (our plans, our beliefs, and the stories we tell ourselves) can be the ultimate engine for our actions, or the very thing that holds us back.

Motivation Through Discrepancy: The TOTE Feedback Loop

A lot of our motivation comes from noticing a discrepancy, a mismatch between our present state (where we are) and our ideal state (where we want to be). This incongruity makes us uncomfortable and generates a drive to close the gap.

The classic cognitive model for this is called TOTE (Test-Operate-Test-Exit). You Test by comparing your present state to your ideal state. If they don't match, you Operate by taking action to change things. Then you Test again. You continue this loop until the mismatch is gone, and then you Exit. It’s a simple feedback system, but it’s the engine behind our plans.

What Makes a Goal Motivating? (It's Not Just Trying Hard)

So, how do we close that gap? With goals. But a goal is not just a wish. Just "trying to do your best" is often a recipe for not actually doing it. To be motivating, a goal needs key ingredients:

• Specificity: Vague goals like "I want to get fit" are less powerful than specific, difficult ones like "I will run 5 kilometers three times a week for the next month". A clear target energizes us and directs our attention.

• Difficulty: Goals need to be challenging enough to stretch you. If they're too easy, they won't trigger much effort or focus. But if they're too hard, they become discouraging. The sweet spot is a goal that makes you think, “This is possible, but I’ll need to push myself.” Moderate difficulty boosts motivation by making success feel rewarding.

• Feedback: You need to know how you're doing. Feedback tells you if you’re on track and acts as a reinforcer to keep you going.

Implementation Intentions: Turn Goals Into Action

But even with a perfect goal, there’s often a gap between setting it and doing it. This is where implementation intentions come in. It's a plan for your plan; an "if-then" statement that specifies in advance when, where, and how you will strive for your goal. It’s not just "I intend to study," but "If it's 7 PM on Tuesday, then I will go to the library and review my notes for one hour". This simple trick helps overcome procrastination by automating the start of the behavior.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

Beyond plans and goals, our underlying beliefs function as powerful motivational systems. A mindset is the cognitive framework you use to interpret the world and yourself. Two pairs of mindsets are particularly important: Growth vs. Fixed Mindset and Promotion vs. Prevention Mindset.

What is a Fixed Mindset?

A fixed mindset is the belief that you "either have it or you don't". From this perspective, having to try hard is a sign of low ability. This leads to performance goals, where the main concern is looking smart.

What is a Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is the belief that qualities can be developed through effort. Here, effort is the tool that builds skill. This fosters mastery goals, where the aim is to learn and improve.

Promotion vs. Prevention Focus

This is about how you strive for your goals. Are you motivated by gains or losses? What's the difference between eager vs. cautious strategies,and why do both matter?

Promotion Focus

A promotion focus is about advancing and attaining gains, seeing goals as hopes and aspirations. The strategy is eager and fast, like "just do it". Success is achieving a gain.

Prevention Focus

A prevention focus is about maintaining security and avoiding losses, seeing goals as duties and responsibilities. The strategy is cautious and vigilant, like "do the right thing". Success is simply not losing ground.

Self-Efficacy: Believing You Can Do It

Self-efficacy is your belief in your ability to handle challenges. It’s the inner voice that answers the question, “Can I do this?” based on your skills and the situation you're in.

When you believe you can, you're more likely to take on difficult tasks, bounce back from setbacks, and stick with your goals. This mindset is called a mastery orientation. If something goes wrong, the thinking is, “I can figure this out. Maybe I need a different approach.”

But low self-efficacy can spiral into a helpless orientation, where failure feels personal and permanent. Instead of looking for new strategies, the belief becomes: “I’m just not good at this,” or worse, “There’s no point in trying.” This is the root of learned helplessness –the belief that your actions won’t change the outcome.

The Self as a Source of Motivation

At the core of motivation is how we see ourselves. Psychologists call these mental blueprints self-schemas, the beliefs we hold about who we are, like “I’m dependable,” or “I’m a creative thinker.”

These self-schemas guide our behavior in two key ways:

• The Consistent Self: We’re naturally motivated to act in ways that align with our current identity. If you see yourself as a problem-solver, you’ll gravitate toward challenges that let you prove it.

• Possible Selves: We also carry mental images of who we want to become—our “ideal” or “future” selves. These imagined versions of us act like internal role models, pulling us toward growth and giving our actions direction.

When our goals match these self-views, especially the future-facing ones, they become self-concordant goals. These are the goals we want to pursue, not just the ones we feel we should. And research shows they tend to generate more motivation, persistence, and long-term satisfaction.

The goals we set, the beliefs we hold, the stories we tell ourselves, and the identity we build all shape how we act and whether we follow through. Motivation doesn’t live in some external reward; it lives in the gap between where we are and where we believe we can go. And that journey starts with clarity.

“You cannot hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have.” — Zig Ziglar

Sources:

Psychology of Motivation and Emotion, Unit 3. University of Valencia

• Chapter 8: Goal setting and goal striving. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018). Wiley.

• Chapter 9: Mindsets. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018). Wiley.

• Chapter 10: Personal Control Beliefs. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018). Wiley.

• Chapter 11: The self and its strivings. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018). Wiley.

• Chapter 15: Growth motivation and positive psychology. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018).

• Chapter 16: Unconscious motivation. Understanding motivation and emotion (7ª Ed). Reeve, J. (2018). Wiley, Pp. 403-408.