Prayer and Hope Shown to Impact Motivation and Resilience

A growing body of research is challenging how we understand motivation, suggesting that what holds many people back isn’t a lack of knowledge about what to do, but the beliefs they carry about taking action.

Former Stanford lecturer, entrepreneur and author Nir Eyal has been studying the science of motivation for the last six years, finding that beliefs have a huge impact on our ability to fulfill our potential.

“Even when we know what to do, we still don’t do it. Why not?” Nir told Hope 103.2’s UNDISTRACTED podcast.

“It turns out [we] don’t understand how motivation really works.”

At the centre of Nir’s research for his latest book Beyond Belief is the concept of limiting beliefs, or negative internal messages that quietly shape behaviour.

“Limiting beliefs are beliefs that decrease motivation while increasing suffering,” Nir said.

A belief is a conviction that is open to revision based on new evidence. And that’s what makes them so amazing – we can change them.”

Given our brain is “optimised for survival” and not personal fulfillment or growth, we can default to passivity instead of pushing beyond our fears and the appeal of comfort.

“[Our survival instinct] reinforces thoughts like: ‘I’m not ready’, ‘This is too hard’, ‘I’m not good enough’,” Nir said.

“These beliefs feel like facts, but they aren’t.

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“A belief is a conviction that is open to revision based on new evidence. And that’s what makes them so amazing – we can change them.”

For people of faith, or those exploring it, Nir’s findings on prayer were especially striking.

Despite identifying as secular for much of his life, Nir’s research led him to reconsider the value of prayer and its role in the lives of the agnostic and religious alike.

“I kept coming across these studies that revealed the power of prayer,” Nir said.

“People who pray live longer, have more friends, are happier, have less incidences of mental health issues [and] higher pain tolerance.

“All the good things seem to happen to people who pray.”

Speaking to a number of religious leaders, Nir wanted to know if he could pray without a belief in God, and whether it would still carry benefit if he had doubts in the process.

“I asked the Rabbi, ‘How does one pray even when you have doubts about God?’,” Nir said.

“He looked at his finger and [asked me to imagine] a tiny ant on it.

“He said, ‘You’re this little speck on this planet and you think that you understand this omnipotent, all-knowing force? You don’t have any doubts? You don’t have any questions? No. Doubt is OK’.

“So now I pray [and] it turns out that I experience many of the same psychological benefits.”

In writing Beyond Belief, Nir’s hope is that people remain open to changing their minds about what they believe and realise the power of being intellectually flexible.

“You don’t see reality as it is,” Nir said.

“So [we need to] maintain the intellectual humility to know that you just see reality through this tiny pinhole of attention.

“You’re capable of far more than you can imagine. You are capable of what you believe you are capable of.”

Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with guest Nir Eyal in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Feature image: Supplied (Canva Pro)