The adolescent years can prompt discussions about extremes: Is the teenager safe? Are they taking things too far? Have they been taking risks, maybe running a bit wild? On the other end, are they withdrawn, lacking motivation, purpose and drive?
In some cases things are stuck in the middle. Winnicott’s famous depiction of the listless ‘adolescent doldrums’ comes to mind (“the temporary state of affairs to which there is no solution until something happens”), and the link to teenage boredom (are adolescents too bored? Or not bored enough?) … It got me thinking about what determines motivation and drive during the adolescent years. What is needed to have a sense of purpose?
When discussing school, I sometimes ask young people: ‘so, why do you go to school? What is the purpose for you?’ Such questions can lead to confused laughter, with teenagers responding, puzzled: ‘well I have to go to school! It’s a given’.
While this is true (we expect teenagers to go to school), considering more deeply the individual reasons why they go reveals various factors contributing to the elusive question of motivation.
But in the first place…what is motivation?
The concept is similar to the term ‘drive’: we often talk about people being ‘driven’. In Freudian psychoanalysis, ‘the drive’ is (almost) a synonym for ‘instinct’, and is described as a –
So motivation or drive is the force that moves us towards a goal. Does it originate in the body, or the mind? Are we naturally (genetically?) ‘driven’, or can we build this capacity, based on our decisions and wishes? Laplanche and Pontalis say:
What I take from this is: motivation – being driven – is firmly rooted in the body, involving the gradual, healthy, creative channelling of aggression. Yet, decision making also counts, and there are things we can do to increase motivation.
Low motivation in children / adolescents
There are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. One stems from within (wanting to do something), while the other responds to external pressures (I am told to do something and I do it). It’s internal motivation that can take the adolescent – and all of us actually – further along the path of finding enjoyment in pursuits such as academic work, doing the work because of a sense of purpose and pleasure, rather than because ‘we have to’.
So … what are some of the factors affecting motivation?
There has been extensive speculation and research, spanning decades, to answer this knotty question. To put it in a nutshell, when it comes to motivation (and this is relevant to all of us, not just adolescents), the old proverb holds true: ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’.
But it can help to consider what might be going on. Here are some thoughts to begin with:
- Low motivation may just be a temporary period of listlessness that will lift, Winnicott’s doldrums or the familiar ‘I don’t know’, with shrugging shoulders, of the young adolescent.
- The adolescent (or younger child) may find it difficult to compete: this leads to total avoidance of competition and effort.
- … or they might find it difficult and even guilt-inducing to succeed. This can be the case, sometimes, with adolescents who are the first in their family going to university, eliciting feelings of guilt.
- There is also the fact, shown consistently by research, that adolescence corresponds to a natural dip in motivation for a few years. This makes sense, as things are still in a state of flux. Despite the strong physical energy, it’s most often not yet clear to teenagers what makes sense to them, why they do what they do, what direction they are moving towards. This is particularly the case nowadays, when rites of passage and rituals are increasingly lacking in marking adolescent transitions.
- Lack of motivation, as argued by various authors, may also have to do with the lack of a good fit between the needs of the growing adolescent and the school environment. There is much to consider here, and I’m sure this varies from school to school – and from adolescent to adolescent. But it’s worth wondering: is the school a good fit for this particular young person?
- There is also a link between the capacity for autonomy and relatedness (both central developmental needs in adolescence) and motivation. This too has widely been written about. To put it simply: if a teenager lacks opportunities to be independent and feel free enough, and if they have become socially isolated, it’s likely their motivation might falter.
- Let’s not forget that lack of motivation in adolescence can be the result of taking drugs. Adolescents, for example, casually use weed. But it has been consistently shown to have a marked effect on motivation.
- In some cases, a lack of motivation, when it’s persistent and doesn’t lift, may indicate an underlying depression that may not be obvious at first glance.
- Finally, sometimes persistent low motivation may be the result of overusing screens.
Speaking about depressive, unmotivated states, it’s worth turning to Graham Music’s ideas on what he calls ‘deadening states of mind’, where he links a persistent, deep lack of motivation to neglect, abuse, an experience of learned helplessness, depression, or trauma. He also talks about addictive states of mind, such as obsessive use of video games or pornography, describing them as – in some cases – attempts to fill a psychic hole created by this inner deadness.
This type of low motivation, persistent and running deep, is more serious and a comprehensive assessment may become necessary.
Where to start with low motivation?
When it comes to school motivation – finding school boring or difficult – psychologist Lisa Damour emphasises the importance of a few steps parents can take to help adolescents re-find their motivation.
First, it helps to support their current interests, whatever they might be, however rudimentary the spark.
Second, Damour talks about school as a ‘compulsory buffet’. Students are invited to try everything on the menu, but don’t have to like everything.
Third, make sure, Damour says, to acknowledge the basic effort your teenager puts into going to school and recognize that doing so doesn’t always come naturally. Remembering (for all of us) what it was like to be teenagers and how we felt about school helps.
The Paradox of Too Many Choices:
Finally, I want to mention a reason for low motivation that I think is becoming increasingly a problem. Adolescents today have an overwhelming abundance of choices from which to choose, leading potentially to decision paralysis. Adam Phillips, in “Missing Out,” suggests that sometimes wanting to lead a ‘good life’ can become a burden in itself:
The frequent social-media-based Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) comes to mind. But also the 24/7, relentless barrage of information and possibilities within which we live… No wonder we sometimes don’t know what to do next.