Concept
Motivation Wave
The motivation wave is BJ Fogg's observation that motivation rises and falls in unpredictable waves, so the work of habit design is to size a behaviour for the trough, not the crest.
Fogg introduced the motivation wave in Tiny Habits to explain why so many plans made on a good day die on a bad one. When motivation is high we commit to running five kilometres and cooking every night; when it drops, which it always does, those behaviours become impossible and we conclude we lack discipline. The insight is to use the crest for the one thing it is good at, structural changes such as buying the shoes, clearing the shelf, setting up the room, and to size the daily behaviour for the trough. What people get wrong is scheduling their ambitions at the high-water mark. A habit that survives the lowest day is the only one that survives at all.
A real-life example
On a Sunday full of energy, Kerem signs up for a gym, buys a programme and plans six sessions a week. By Thursday the wave has passed and he has been twice. The following month he uses a high-motivation evening to prepare his bag and pick a fixed slot, and commits only to walking in and doing ten minutes. He is still going in March.
How to use it
- 1When motivation is high, do the one-off setup work: buy, arrange, remove, subscribe.
- 2Size the repeating behaviour for the worst day you can imagine, not the one you are having.
- 3Notice the wave without judging it: a low week is weather, not a verdict on you.