Bobby Hoffman is the author of the new book The Paradox of Passion: How Rewards Covertly Control Motivation. His other books include Hack Your Motivation. He is an associate professor at the University of Central Florida.
Q: What inspired you to write The Paradox of Passion?
A: Writing The Paradox of Passion (POP) was motivated by three desires.
First, I wanted to provide people with evidence-based information about motivation as opposed to conventional wisdom. In the information overloaded world in which we live today, we are bombarded with advice that often originates from personal experience and is based on opinion and hearsay. The narrative goes like this, “it works for me, so it will work for you!”
Unfortunately, based on differences in culture, upbringing, and genetic expression, no two individuals are alike and thus any motivation advice or strategies that work for one person may not work for another. This paradigm perpetuates the amplification of bad advice about motivation, and I wanted to do something about that.
Second, my personal history working in both academia and business has been focused on helping others succeed. I have worked in over 50 companies and have reached the top echelon of academia based on my research and writings on motivation. I wanted to share this knowledge and experience to help others.
POP provides individuals with the strategies they need to be successful, productive, and most importantly to understand how their mind works based on motivation science, not pop psychology.
Third, I have taught motivation courses at the university level for over 20 years. I have plenty of experience (and data) working with students. This data reveals that most students who lack knowledge of motivation science think they are motivated by intrinsic reasons (doing things for pleasure out of passion, liking, or sheer desire).
After they take my motivation course they realize and report they are mostly motivated by things other than passion such as respect, recognition, influence, money, and reputation. Add in the desire to please others. They also feel stigmatized for wanting materialistic things.
During the course they experience a catharsis and through self-awareness begin to understand that extrinsic desires satisfy important psychological needs and that passion is just another form of reward from a neurological perspective.
When people fail to follow popular narratives they often think something is wrong with them and start to feel guilty, have self-doubt, and can even be depressed. POP dispels the myth that passion is the gold standard of motivation and legitimizes the diversity of motivation.
Q: What do you think are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about human motivation?
A: There are tons of motivation misconceptions. To name a few, there is no such thing as being unmotivated, we are often the worst judges of our own motives, and we cannot motivate anyone besides ourselves (and that’s pretty tough too).
However, the most sensationalized myth is the glorification of passion as essential for strong drive, satisfaction, well-being, and accomplishment. Popular press narratives and even those from some highly respected scholars place heavy career and academic emphasis on finding something that gets you out of bed in the morning and that you will pursue for no other reason than sheer pleasure or interest.
However, there are flaws to this overemphasis and data refutes the idea that passion alone is the driver of motivation or even necessary for accomplishment.
Social media amplifies many unsupported views of motivation (and learning and performance) that are NOT based on evidence. See this article for some of the particulars. In addition, it's important to recognize that most motivation research and the advice that follows often overlooks neuroscience.
But when we face the natural highs and lows of motivation without understanding how the brain works, we risk using the wrong strategies to push forward. During a motivational crash, we can feel especially vulnerable, leading to frustration, self-doubt, anxiety, and even depression as described above.
By explaining the neuroscience of motivation in simple, accessible terms, people can cope better and respond wisely and rise above the misconceptions with knowledge based on science, not wishful thinking.
Talking about motivation without considering how the brain works perpetuates an incomplete view of motivation. Thus, I show why the number-one misconception is thinking you can effectively motivate the self and others without understanding how the brain works.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title signifies that passion is good, but unsustainable over the long-term. The title suggests that what truly motivates individuals may not be in their direct awareness. What constitutes reward is misunderstood by the general public but also by researchers.
In the book I analyze the top 50 most cited studies related to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and reward. The analysis reveals a host of issues that show that existing research is extremely flawed. Despite this reality, the number of research citations based on flawed reward research has increased by 44 percent over the last five years compared to before 2020.
This reality suggests that we need to reconsider the demonization of rewards and stop generalizing ancient reward research based on a long history of misinterpretation. You might want to listen to this podcast that explains why reward is misinterpreted even by some very influential people. This article is a shorter version of the same topic.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: There are two main takeaways.
First, after reading the book people will realize that popular, amplified narratives about motivation are incomplete and overgeneralized. They will learn that striving toward goals such as having more influence, power, recognition, money, or looking good in the eyes of others is not bad and a natural part of human physiology. They will learn that the demonization of rewards is unjustified despite popular narratives.
The findings are powerful because many people feel lost when their passion disappears, which is a natural occurrence in the ebb and flow of motivation. Think about dead-end, boring jobs, unsatisfying relationships, and the immense self-doubt that accompanies not knowing what to do next in life.
POP explains the neuroscience behind these situations but goes far beyond discussing the problem by revealing solutions.
Second, the book has a highly practical application that explains complex brain science in simple, accessible terms. In other words, the book deconstructs the research and transforms the science into usable strategies.
The main takeaway is about 100 pages worth of solutions to address motivational challenges. POP reveals the science of sustainable motivation and shows individuals how to leverage the brain's natural reward systems to fuel peak performance.
Readers will discover neurologically consistent, brain-aligned strategies that boost learning, drive productivity, enhance persuasion, that will help them achieve more with less effort.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am working on being a better father and grandude! However, that’s a lifetime project.
Other than that, my next book, which will likely be titled After the Paradox of Passion, will emphasize the strategy solutions even more. It will include many new suggestions but also describe the situations where the strategies can be used with tons of practical examples, with a stronger dose of humor and satire about the science of motivation.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Always evaluate your own behavior from many perspectives. Do not rely on the internet for information. Critical evaluation of evidence is essential, and the bias of human thinking is very hard to overcome.
Personal awareness and the willingness to change is more important than just about anything else if you want success. Remember, strength does not come from achievement, it comes from making mistakes and realizing we can always do better. Create your own reality!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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