Starting a small business requires a major investment of time and money. And challenges often arise in the process. When you need a motivation booster, a study suggests that you should focus on how much time you’ve spent to achieve your goals rather than the amount of money you’ve invested.
The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, found that when people experienced failure, they showed stronger self-determination and goal persistence if they focused on how much time they’d spent on the goal instead of the money spent.
Here’s what to know about the research and how it can help your business.
The connection between motivation and focusing on time
The researchers conducted two studies using feedback from 600 professionals and a third one involving 75 Taiwanese undergraduate students.
One study examined how focusing on time (relative to money) encourages “goal persistence by indirectly strengthening self-determination.” Another study examined whether failing twice rather than once weakens the time-money trade-off based on the first study’s findings. The third evaluated whether the time-money difference extended to other emotional responses, such as students feeling unhappy after failing a mandatory test.
The results showed that when subjects failed to meet a goal twice in a row, they felt lower self-determination and persistence to meet the goal when they thought about the money they’d invested to achieve it, but not when they thought about the time spent on it.
In the throes of running a business, staying focused on your goals and committed to success is crucial.
Additionally, students didn’t feel as bad about failing a test if they focused on how much time they spent studying and what they learned.
The researchers concluded that people may feel more controlled by an outcome when they focus on the money they spent to reach their goals, and failing twice may reinforce the perception that money was wasted.
How to reframe your thinking to stay motivated
In the throes of running a business, staying focused on your goals and committed to success is crucial. Here are some tips to help you maintain a healthy perspective.
Try not to dwell on the monetary expense
Owning a small business comes with plenty of expenses. For instance, you may purchase books or take courses to help accomplish your goals. If these tools don’t seem to help, you may become more discouraged if you focus on how much the tools cost, as suggested by the study. But by shifting your mindset to what you learned from the tools, you adopt a “more persistent mindset” that places you on the path to success, the researchers noted.
Connect with customers
The study also suggests that businesses can apply the findings to bolster their marketing messages by emphasizing the value of self-determination and goal persistence to customers. For instance, giving customers insights into managing setbacks and emphasizing skills development and competence could position companies “as essential tools and reinforce a sense of self-determination among their customers,” the researchers said.
Avoid distractions
While this advice may be easier said than done, given all that's going on in the United States currently, stay focused by creating a routine for yourself and setting small daily goals, according to the University of Cincinnati.
Celebrate small successes, take every opportunity to learn, and prioritize your own health and well-being. Ultimately, stay focused on why you started your business and go back to that vision when challenges arise.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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