When to Use Positive or Negative Messages to Motivate Yourself

Positive thinking can be a great way to motivate yourself to keep healthy habits...but so can negative messages, like a fear of failing. A new review of the psychology behind motivation gives us four ways to decide when a positive or negative message will work best.

Here's a great example of a negative message that motivated cartoonist Matt Inman, and in turn the thousands of people who are fans of his Blerch-themed races. He described his motivation to Runner's World:

"When I first got into running about 10 years ago, I could barely run a mile," Matt said, as we loped through the park. "I would always find a waypoint–the next tree, or corner–and I said to myself, I am being chased by this unhappy depressed fat man. And if I don't reach that point before he does, he will catch me, and I will become him."

Fear-based messages motivate some people and demotivate others. Here are the four factors that the scientists at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab identified as making the difference:

1. Do you feel like you're very involved in this issue, and knowledgeable about it? If so, a negative message may work better, because you understand why the negative outcome is bad, and what you can do about it. On the other hand, if you're trying to convince somebody who only has a casual interest in the subject, a positive message would work better.
2. Will you focus on the details, or just the overall message? Similar to the first point, if you're willing to digest all the little details that make up a message (for example, if you go and read up obsessively on your chosen subject), negative messages will work well. But somebody who is more inclined to skim the details and only listen to the overall tone of the message is likely to be put off by negative messages. If you don't want to dig into the details, keep the message positive.
3. How certain is the outcome? If something is mostly certain—say you're doing great on your diet but want a reminder not to fall off the wagon—positive messages seem to be best. But if you're not so certain whether something will work out, a reminder about the negative consequences may be more effective.
4. How do you feel about risk? If you don't like to take risks, you'll probably respond better to positive messages about the wonderful things you will gain by doing something healthy. But if you're a risk seeker, you'll be more motivated to take action when you're reminded of the negative outcomes.

The Cornell scientists based their tips on public health messages and how large groups of people responded, but it seems likely that the same points apply to self-motivation. Someone who fears the Blerch probably understands how exercise will help them avoid obesity and depression, and fears that becoming the Blerch is likely to happen if they don't act fast. Meanwhile, the best candidate for a positive "Running is good for you!" message would be someone who doesn't know much about exercise, but likes the idea of looking and feeling better and believes that they're likely to succeed if they try. Which messages work for you?

When do gain-framed health messages work better than fear appeals? | Nutrition Reviews

Image by Daniel Miller for the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.

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Cook Risotto in 3 Minutes and "Ramen-ize" Rice with Baking Soda

The same technique that turns regular pasta into one with the flavor and texture of fresh ramen can upgrade rice dishes as well and even help you cook chewy, perfect risotto in three minutes.

Well, technically, three minutes plus an hour and a half of (hands off) soaking time.

The key is to soak the rice in a bath of baking soda and salt dissolved in water, Lucky Peach explains. After an hour and a half, drain and rinse the rice, stick it in a pot of boiling water, and three minutes later you've got a tender and chewy "Ramen-ized" rice.

Taking it a step further, take that same baking soda-soaked rice but this time cook it as you would risotto—in a broth until the stock evaporated:

We put one part rice and approximately five parts hot, pressure-cooked smoked turkey broth into a pot and brought the mixture to a boil. We cooked it at a rolling boil. The stock evaporated. The rice thickened. The grains of rice retained their shape and structure; they did not break apart. As the rice and stock cooked together, they gained the texture of risotto. We finished the rice with a knob of butter and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. We had a creamy, chewy, perfect risotto in three minutes. And remember, the rice had been soaked in baking soda water the day before and still performed beautifully, perfectly, after resting overnight.

This might be a great way to make risotto without having to stand in front of the stove for hours constantly adding broth.

(Baking soda, by the way, is behind the homemade ramen noodles we've seen previously.) For more ramen reading than you probably have time for, visit Lucky Peach.

How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta & Rice | Lucky Peach

How to Have a Social Life If You Don’t Work a Nine-to-Five Job

If you work a job that is outside the traditional 9-to-5 schedule, it can be challenging to maintain current relationships and create new ones. Here are some steps to take to keep a thriving social life despite your work.

Find Others with Similar Schedules

Seeking out those with almost the same working hours (and thus often the same off hours) is one of the easiest ways to keep your social circle full. Besides having a similar schedule to you, they'll likely be more understanding of the difficulties associated with your unusual job hours.

There are tons of places you can meet people with similar schedules to you. Try your work, people in the same industry, or in other industries with traditional unusual work hours (service, restaurant, hotels, etc.). You might even find groups in your area on sites like Meetup, LinkedIn, or forums.

Maximize the Time You Do Have

Of course, you probably also have friends who do work 9-to-5 jobs, so you have to find ways to work with that. Manage your schedule better by using apps like Shifts. This will help you find overlapping time between your schedule and theirs. Our own Patrick Allan says that you need to really prioritize that overlapping social time, since you may not easily have another chance to hang out. You can also maximize that time with meaningful activities instead of run of the mill ones, this is especially relevant if you're trying to make your and your partner's schedule work. There are tons of resources to find fun stuff nearby without breaking the bank.

Use some of your time to prepare yourself so that you have more time to socialize when others are available. For example, plan to take care of errands and chores when other aren't free. Really try to work your schedule around your friends, since they're probably the hardest thing to schedule.

Know That Everyone Will Have to Compromise

Hopefully, your friends, family, and partner are understanding of your tough schedule—and are willing to make sacrifices to hang out with you. For example, if you work until 9pm and want to hang out with a friend who ends work at 6pm, they might stay up later and lose out on a few hours of sleep to see you. This can go the other way as well—you might have to wake up earlier or go straight from work to meet them.

As our own Kristin Wong points out, if you're in charge of your own work hours, you'll have to enforce your schedule so that you can get back to work. This is especially true for days that others normally have off (weekends, holidays) since they may not realize you don't have the whole day off. The National Sleep Disorder Foundation suggests that if you have children, create a calendar of your schedule. This helps set their expectations around when you'll be home and able to spend time with them. You can also schedule a special activity each week for your kids to look forward to doing with you.

Remember the Benefits of Your Schedule

When you work an unusual shift there are health effects. Jordan Teicher, writing on The Billfold, lays out how working the night shift decreased in his health to the point that he decided to find a new job:

But I couldn't ignore what was really going on: A war against my body's natural impulses, whose battles I was regularly losing. I bought melatonin pills in hopes of falling asleep at 7 every night. That didn't work. Even after shifts on a near-appropriate amount of sleep, I found myself emerging bleary-eyed into the bright afternoon, unable to fathom staying up long enough to socialize, no less look for other jobs. Turns out that the body doesn't like when you mess with its biological clock. It wants to sleep when it's dark.

If you don't experience these issues, or want to keep your shift work for other reasons, there are pluses to a nontraditional work schedule. Some examples are:

• You have an easier to time running errands or going out because you can do it on weekdays to avoid the crowds.
• You may not have to start your day off early. This is a huge pro if you're a night owl.
• Being able to have a flexible schedule (depending on your job)
• Control of your workspace (sometimes)
• Being your own boss (sometimes)

Take advantage of the flexibility and benefits of your work schedule.

Having a work-life balance is important for your mental, emotional, and physical health. Use the above guidance to find that balance even if you don't work a 9-to-5 job.

Illustration by Tina Mailhot-Roberge. Images from restuaji, herry, ellenkleiman, and trippchicago.