Motivation: the foundation for peak performance
Not a psychological view
»The word motivation comes from the Latin word for moving=movere and motus= movement. It describes the state of an organism that influences the direction and the energy load of the current behaviour. By direction especially the focus on goals is meant. The energy load means the physical forces which drive the behaviour.«
Source: wikipedia
Biology or psychology? Or both?
"The significance of the immune system for motivation", was the name of a subject I was going to write about a few months ago, when I sent my topic list to the editorial office. I had a more or less vague idea what I was going to write about. But because I still had a couple of weeks time ahead of me I did not waste to many thoughts on the exact contents. But when I did begin to think about this topic I quickly realized that I was moving in a complex intersection of different sciences and controversial viewpoints.
In the following article I will not only explain the different methods of motivation training but also go into depth on the biological background and coherences that characterize a state of motivation. Motivation does not only include a state of mind, motivation also stands for a certain state of activity in the organism. This state is mainly generated by the regulating super systems – nervous system, immune system and hormones.
Motivation describes my relation to the world around me
Motivation always describes a relationship to something. A motive is something that gives one an impulse to act. Hunger for example is a very stable motive and hunger motivates you to eat. The motivation is so strong that the action is carried out without great effort. This needs not always be the case. People that go into a hunger strike are motivated so strongly by an ideal that the motivation to eat does not suffice. A similar situation counts for very ill people. If eating causes them too much pain in extreme situations they prefer to starve.
And what about the motivation to deliver a peak performance und be successful? Most of you have probably experienced that the motive “peak performance” is not half as stable as hunger. The uncertainty which path to reaching a goal is the right one often makes the level of motivation vary. And the numerous possibilities such as methods of training, nutrition concepts and mental training methods that can lead to a goal can put a lot of pressure on your motivation. Then there is the body as well that also can not tell you for sure, if the path which you have troublesomely chosen will guaranty a peak performance.
So motivation has to do with our self perception (self esteem), how we percept our environment (goals) and how we see ourselves in that environment (expectations). These parameters produce a behaviour component that can range from highly motivated all the way to depressed. Motivation is also an internal condition that embodies an activity of the nervous system, immune system and the hormones. From this biological view motivation is strongly influenced by the body’s stress response. The stress response enables our organism to control our relationship towards our environment and adapt to constantly changing circumstances.
This biological stress response holds the organism’s dynamic balance (homoeostasis) by constantly registering and adapting target value and actual value. Usually the actual value is aligned with the target value (blood sugar). Target values can be shifted by training and the levels of balance can be changed (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate). The stress field between target- and actual value influences our motivation. So regulation dysfunctions and discrepancies between target-and actual value reduce our motivation. Just remember a competition that you had to discontinue.
The same dilemma of the discrepancy between actual (reality) and target (expectation) also counts for our perception (e.g. success, failure, performance, fears, self-evaluation, self-esteem). These factors can be stressor just the same as a disease or an injury. It is possible to measure the stress response parameters. The differences are nearly exactly the same regardless if the stressor is coming from an unconscious physiologic parameter such as a drop in the blood sugar level, a physical stressor such as extreme muscle strain or from a mental stressor such as fear of failure.
Biological background for lack of motivation
Like in my other articles also here the stress response is right in the center of concern. The stress responses is adjusting our body to the inner and outer circumstances of life. The stress system that consists primarily of cortisol and catecholamine circuits within the central nervous system follows strict rules after which the processing of stimuli and stressors respectively takes place.
This circuits are closely intertwined with the immune system and other organ system as there are blood circulation, respiratory functions etc.. They control and coordinate everything that is proceeding within our body, and they execute and initiate correction by comparing the current state with the required state. Like this body and psyche are held in balance that goes along with the feeling of well-being. The overall-goal of all these actions is the maintenance of a dynamic equlibrium (homeostase). Thereby it does not matter, whether the stimuli are received on a conscious or unconscious level, or the stressors originate form the inside or the outside of the body.
Humans differ in dependence of their genetic outfit and their experiences how they deal with stress situations, and this is the case right from the beginning of life. Their capacity to deal with stress may be very different aready by then. Stress may be stress for one and none for the other. Frustrating stress processing leads to chronic overload. In these cases the stress system is hyperactive and parts of the immune system are deregulated.
Maybe the weakest symptom of such a chronic stress condition is the loss of motivation and loss of energy accompanied by a feeling of excessive demands and loss of control about the own living circumstances. In case there is more stress added to the situation like a disease, an injury or too much training and unsufficient recovery a depression and an overtraining respectively may develop.
Immune system and emotions? Does this sound «strange» to you?
The immune system patrols permanently inside our body and along the mucosal lining of gut and lungs, a huge area of the size a football place and a tennis court. It continuously works on the balance of the milieu. There is a steady signal flow to the stress system that under normal conditions controls and dampens immune activity. The immune system of healthy individuals oscillates between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory states.
If endurance training and racing turn into chronic stress, then the immune system of the respective athlete is partly responsible for the trough in performance and the mood depression. Unsufficient recovery, injuries and infections that are still ongoing are in many cases the cause for a mental state that ranges from a lack of motivation, depression to overtraining.
The cytokines like Interleukin-1 and Interleukin-6 play a central role in shifting emotional conditions. A smoothly functioning immune system therefore accounts for peak performance.
As already mentioned in the first part of this article we learn to influence our stress processing capabilities by training. Breathing consciously for example or the visualization of situations could be a tool to loosen stress. Nothing should catch you by surprise, be prepared. Everybody knows how weak you can suddenly feel, if you imagine your adversary coming closer from behind. It is possible to train dealing with stress, successsful stress processing should be part of a good training program.
Of course, it is not enough to be mentally strong only, but also the immune system has to work optimally, therefore there has to be time for recovery, and the healing of injuries and infection has to be complete. Supplements may help. Essential is good food and an adequate self-esteem.