How the right incentive improves the quality of work

Translated with the help of AI. We apologize for any errors and would appreciate your help in correcting them.

60% of Poker University psychologist Sofia Okhrimenko's consultations touch upon the topic of choosing, motivating and improving her activities, so Sofia decided to analyze this point in more detail in this article. This article will touch upon the main “painful” points of everyone who once thought about improving their work, motivation and choosing the right incentive to achieve the goal. 

1. What is an incentive?

A scientific definition is necessary for a better understanding of the issue. Stimulusisa strong motivating moment; an internal or external factor that causes a reaction, an action; also, in the terminology of expert assessments, is an object-observation that affects the interviewed subject. In physiology and psychophysiology, this concept is identical to the concept of irritation.

Simply put, incentive is the reason that drives you to act and move forward to new horizons.

Reinforcing your ultimate goal that, even in moments of discouragement, will propel you forward. When a person sets a goal, the first thing he does is look for motivation to achieve this goal (for example, to buy an apartment, because it is already crowded or you want to change the area). The motivation here is a change in housing conditions, and what is the incentive? And why is it so important for motivation to work and everything to change? Incentive is an external factor (event, impact, circumstance) that forces a person to take certain actions, reconsider their priorities and move towards the intended goal. Incentives always work together with motives and are sources of motivation, which is necessary for any activity in all spheres of our life. 

2. What are the incentives? 

There are several classifications of incentives. Let's take a look at some of them. 

By virtue of the nature of the

• Strong ones are those that are significant for a person and ignite him, encourage him to move forward even more. They are usually of a personal nature.
• Weak - those that do not affect a person, do not increase his attraction to the goal.
• Neutral - those incentives that are based on stereotypes and beliefs (for example: by the age of 35, you need to have a prestigious job). Such stimuli, as a rule, can cause mild irritation, that is, as if to encourage a person, but are not supported by anything personal.

Incentives can also be

Incentives can be both positive (the benefits and pleasures that can be obtained) and negative (the punishment that is best avoided). Different people may react differently to the same stimuli (including ignoring them). Also, the significance of a particular stimulus strongly depends on other circumstances.

For example: when health deteriorates, a person does not rely on incentives, since his goal switches to another stimulus - to recover, and then the rest are reinforced (why exactly do this).

Also, the monetary incentive does not always work, since at a certain level of income a person may not be interested in a monetary reward of a small size, if necessary, to spend a large amount of effort. Therefore, the incentive should not be alone! Often people take the view that there should be a lot of motives, and incentives – 1 or 2. And in the end they do not come to their goal. Why?

Imagine a visual situation. You are at point - A. Your goal is to get to point B. Motivation is the car you will drive. And the incentive is the fuel for your car. The journey can be long and the car will need refueling in one way or another. Incentives are gas stations with the right fuel for your motivation. In other words, if incentives are not enough, then your car will not go far, whatever your desire. Of course, you can push the car, but will achieving the goal of "getting to point B" be just as desirable?

Therefore, in order for your activity to be successful and productive, you must always have a set of various incentives that will move you. 

A complex of personal rewards, when in the middle of the road and with the understanding that you are tired, you will not squeeze out the rest of your strength and energy, but slightly give yourself the opportunity to “refresh” and come to your senses, and then continue to move on.

3. What incentives are important to always include in your activities?

Let's look at the most important incentives that are important for the most effective performance.  

Incentive for monetary reinforcement

Receive the money that you will spend on yourself and the fulfillment of your desire. If the goal in the activity is global and you need savings, then you can also allocate some part of the funds for your own pleasure.

Stimulus for growth and encouragement

Notice your successes, celebrate them in front of others. It is always important for any person to have people around who will support you and rejoice in your success.

Recreational incentives

Learn to rest properly and gain strength so that the pace of your activities only grows, and does not fall due to fatigue and exhaustion.

Remember one very important thing: incentives control our behavior, encourage action, promote self-development and self-actualization. They provide us with the energy we need to effectively meet our needs and achieve our goals. 

Especially remember about incentives in those situations where the amount of incentives is proportional to your further success:

1. Crisis - when a person is faced with a large number of problems that he cannot cope with, it greatly demotivates him. In this case, the incentive can be a great help, giving strength to overcome the crisis.
2. The beginning of big work - if a person has a big way to go, it can be very difficult to take the first step. And a good incentive can also help with this.

Expand your arsenal of incentives, work on your goals in a complex. And then your activity will sparkle with other, more saturated colors and will be more productive. And if suddenly your stimuli do not bring you any pleasure and do not move you forward, come to a consultation with our psychologist Sofia Okhrimenko, where you can analyze this topic on the shelves and include your stimuli and motivation 100%.

We also remind you that Alexey discusses the topic of motivation in detail in the video course "Psychology and Professionalism in Poker", which is publicly available on the Poker University website.