How failing to achieve a goal by a near margin can boost our motivation

Scientific litsketch on boosting motivation

Research shows that feeling so close to achieving a goal but failing in the end can increase our motivation to achieve a different goal (Wadhwa and Kim, 2015).

In an experiment, people were divided into three groups to play a card game. Group One was made to win the game no matter what. Group Two was made to clearly lose the game. Group Three was made to lose the game but only by a very small margin. Group Three that was so close to winning showed the strongest motivation in a subsequent task compared to the other two groups. Nearly winning a goal but failing in the end boosts our motivation for achieving a different goal because our general motivation intensifies when we get closer to a goal.

Next time you fail, try to think that you were really close to achieving the goal, and transfer the fire in you to a different goal.

Wadhwa, Monica, and JeeHye Christine Kim. "Can a near win kindle motivation? The impact of nearly winning on motivation for unrelated rewards." Psychological science 26, no. 6 (2015): 701-708.