The video analyzed in the scope of this paper is titled “Self-Motivation,” presented by Brandon Clark. It is only about 3 minutes long, during which Clark talks about his own personal experiences in finding motivation to do what is needed, while explaining that motivation is necessary to achieve anything in life (TEDx Talks 2016). The chosen analysis mode for this paper is thematic reflexive analysis, using a critical realist approach, examining the objectivity of how the speaker perceives the situation (Clarke et al. 2015).
In the video, Clark provides a personal account on how he finds motivation to do tasks he finds boring or unpleasant. His method involves utilizing empathy and putting oneself in the shoes of the person that gave the task, deriving pleasure and comfort from knowing that that the efforts would be met with appreciation (TEDx Talks 2016). This idea has academic backing behind it – Jeske and Axtell (2017) report that appreciation of effort is one of the crucial components of fostering motivation in employees and students alike. Leung (2018) states that empathy-induced motivation is a valid tool for making oneself want to do something, and relates to the Confucian concept of civic, familial, and familiar duties.
At the same time, the method of motivation proposed by Clark is not universal, as it reflects only their own experiences and psycho-social parameters. As highlighted by Kezar and Elrod (2020), the method that relies on empathy and appreciation works only in healthy relationships where there is an individual beneficiary to the task who can appraise the effort. People with low empathy scores cannot achieve that, nor is the method applicable when there is no one to appreciate the effort, such as during self-improvement, for example. Therefore, while some people may benefit from Clark’s experience, it remains situational and personally biased.
Reference List
Clarke, V., Braun, V. and Hayfield, N. (2015) Qualitative psychology: a practical guide to research methods. New York: Springer.
Jeske, D. and Axtell, C. M. (2017) ‘Effort and reward effects: Appreciation and self-rated performance in e-internships’, Social Sciences, 6(4), p. 154.
Kezar, A. and Elrod, S. (2020) ‘Taken for granted: improving the culture of celebration, appreciation, and recognition in higher education’, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 52(5), pp. 29-36.
Leung, Y. H. (2018) ‘is the empathy-induced motivation to help egoistic or altruistic: insights from the neo-Confucian Cheng Hao. Philosophy East and West, 68(1), pp. 140-160.
TEDx Talks (2016) Self Motivation | Brendan Clark | TEDxYouth@BarnstableHS. Web.