In many ways, motivation is the holy grail. If we always wanted to do the right things, life would be easier, simpler, and more productive. But most motivation techniques fail spectacularly over time. They may work once or even a few times, but tend to run out of steam.
There is one motivation technique that works better than any other, and it can last a very long time. To be clear, this technique even works without willpower and without the power of habit. It works because of how it aligns with both types of motivation.
The Challenge With Motivation
Motivation is tricky in part because it has two meanings. You have the reason to do something and the desire to do something. Both are motivation, and they often align, but not always. For example, when you have a good reason not to eat a hamburger (health), you may still desire one (delicious).
People try to leverage their reason to do things into desire, but it’s not always strong enough. Desire is deeply habitual, circumstantial, and subconscious. Our values produce conscious desires, but they aren’t as strong as emotional desires. This is why when someone “loses the room,” it’s over. At that point, it doesn’t matter much how reasoned they are (if debating) or funny they are (if doing stand-up comedy). You lose the emotional trust of the audience, and you might as well go home and try another day.
What is the Protection Principle?
The protection principle takes effect when you have something to protect. This motivation technique works because it gives you a reason and a desire to do something.
When we think of protection, most people think of parents, and not just human parents! Think of the mama bear, and what happens when you get near her cubs. Parents of all species have a good reason to protect their young (ensure their bloodline). But importantly, parents also have a deep emotional and biological desire to protect them. It isn’t just a business transaction, it’s I-will-risk-my-life-for-you levels of emotion.
This is especially interesting when you think about using the protection principle as a motivational technique for other behaviors. For example, what if you were able to use this principle for your health? I did that recently, and it prompted this article.
My Improbable Flossing Success Story
I was always the person who got annoyed when the dentist told me to floss. I didn’t want to floss and never did. Between dental cleanings, my gums would gradually get more inflamed and develop pockets of bacteria instead of being tight and healthy. They would also bleed during cleaning. Good times.
After cleaning, my gums would heal and feel great at first, gradually getting worse until the next cleaning. After one cleaning, however, I got curious. What would happen if I started flossing that same night?
Flossing: Day One
After flossing the first day, something clicked. I saw the bits of food that I dislodged from my gums come out. Then I thought about those same bits of food rotting for days, weeks, months because I refused to remove them. I went to sleep with flossed teeth.
The next day, my gums felt amazing. I hadn’t experienced the typical dental degradation after a cleaning. That night, I flossed again. I found the process of flossing incredibly annoying, but it didn’t matter. I wanted to protect my gums.
Here I am, several months later, still flossing every day. I can’t wait for my next cleaning. My dentist will likely hand me a trophy. It will be the first time in my life that I’ll get a “good job flossing” from the dentist (at 36 years old)!
How to Use the Protection Principle
Getting my teeth cleaned was a necessary first step for flossing. Why? It gave me something to protect! This is so important.
This may sound strange, but why would I floss when my gum health is already deteriorated? I understand the logical flaw there, but logic aside, we will always be more motivated to protect something we deem worth protecting.
Step one: Create something worth protecting
- Clean and healthy gums after a teeth cleaning
- A business
- A child
- A home
- A community
- A lifestyle (motivates financial protection)
- Any habit or valuable behavior
You don’t see people hand-washing old clunkers. It’s the new, shiny cars that practically demand car washes from their owners to maintain their perfect sheen. It’s easier and more satisfying to maintain things than to fix them after they break.
NOTE: This motivational technique should not be used as an excuse to “kickstart” your weight loss with extreme dieting. It would be fine, except that dieting damages your metabolism, so whatever motivation you may gain from needing to protect your new physique will be outmuscled by your increased food efficiency (lowered metabolism). Instead, think in terms of behaviors to protect. (And read Mini Habits for Weight Loss!)
The Protection Principle Has Layers
I’ve been coming to a coffee shop that serves healthy food. I’ll order a breakfast bowl of eggs, kale, onions, kidney beans, and quinoa. It’s healthy and delicious. Then I’ll work through to lunch time and order a salad. Because of this, I’ve now dropped all of my pandemic weight gain without trying.
This routine has improved my health and productivity, and I really enjoy it. But it’s expensive. So I’m motivated to be productive and earn enough to be able to keep doing it. And I’m protecting a new early morning sleep schedule (I’m usually a night owl). There are several things I’m naturally motivated to protect now. No need to watch an inspirational video. No need to remind myself of my values. The protection principle is a motivation technique that powers itself. You just have to set up something worth protecting.
As an example of what this has produced, I’ve gone through all 450+ of my blog articles and one-by-one updated their SEO. That took weeks, but it should pay off in a few months with more traffic.
Your Turn: Create Something Worth Protecting
I understand the challenge of suddenly creating something worth protecting. But for any area that can’t be refreshed quickly, you can focus on setting up the behaviors that will take you there. There are a lot of creative ways to leverage this motivation technique.
Here’s another example:
Minihabits.com is my one and only website now. Just a couple months ago, I had stephenguise.com and minihabits.com. But merging these two sites into one, I created ONE website to invest in and protect. That focal clarity helped me elevate the design and back end to levels that exceeded either site before.
If you’re struggling in an area, the problem could be that you don’t yet have anything that activates the protection principle. Do your best to create that situation, and you’ll find your motivation to protect and improve it surge without any extra effort on your part.
