Self Control and Motivation in Endurance

Throughout the book “Endurance” Shackleton and his men went through many hardships, but were able to overcome them due to strong leadership and motivation to succeed by Shackleton. Each journey that these men took to reach their intended goal was draining and tiring on everyone involved. Each person had to have self control and motivation to keep going no matter how hard it got. Shackleton played a huge part in the men’s persistence to continue on this journey. Whenever there were obstacles, Shackleton would come up with plans and would give jobs to the crew to stay productive. He did it while staying calm which would exude confidence onto his men. If their leader was calm, then the crew would be less worried. This may not have always been the case, but every person did what they needed to do to survive and to help the other men survive. It was not only Shackleton who would help this crew, but each and every man were helping each other to survive this journey. Self control also had to be used in relation to their food rations. They would be given a certain amount of portions to eat in order to have enough food for later in their journey. This took a lot of self control for these men to not over eat as most if not all of them were starved every day. Some men would have more self control by saving portions of their already rationed food to have for later which would allow them to have gratification in the coming days. This was also exhibited when Shackleton allowed for feasts when they were about to move camps. Because of self control, they were able to have this leftover food to have a feast allowing for greater gratification. Motivation and self control helped these men get through their journey. Self control can be helpful in my everyday life and I use it when thinking of money. Whenever I get paid, the immediate thought is to spend it because now I have it, but using self control, I am able to put some of that money aside to get a bigger reward later using my saved money. If I spend everything right away I may not have savings to go on a vacation.

Operant Conditioning and B.F. Skinner

 Linked is an article that explains more information on B.F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning: https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html 

One of my favorite topics in psychology is operant conditioning and how it influences behavior. I thought it would be interesting to post on more in depth than my first post that focused on education and reinforcement in school settings specifically. 

There are two types of conditioning that impact learning and behavior: classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov, describes learned associations between two stimuli that are not innately associated with one another. We get hungry when we smell food, which is a natural and unconditioned stimulus. We can learn to associate other stimuli with food, such as when children hear the familiar jingle of the ice cream truck and go running, making the truck's song the conditioned stimulus that is associated with getting ice cream. B.F. Skinner had another theory that is a little different than classical conditioning called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is when a behavior is not simply associated but is done to increase or decrease a behavior, such as through reinforcers and punishments, respectively (Berg, 2025). Reinforcers and punishments make us into the individuals we ultimately become. Moral conditioning happens when our parents punish us for breaking rules in the household. Or we may receive detention for not doing our homework in school, a punishment that decreases this rule breaking. We may receive ice cream as children as a reinforcer for sharing toys with siblings. All of these things teach us to become productive members of society. According to Simply Psychology, Skinner introduced the Law of Effect, that reinforced behaviors increase in frequency, but halting reinforcement leads to extinction of such behaviors (McLeod, para #4 2025). That is why we are conditioned the way we are by the adults in our lives as children, to ensure we adapt prosocial behaviors in order to function as adults ourselves. 

This conditioning ultimately leads us to make the decisions we make as adults. We go to college for a career to aid society because we are taught from a young age that we need to be productive members of society. We know stealing is unethical from our conditioning so we learn to earn what we need in order to survive, in a healthy, prosocial way such as being employed. These prosocial ideals allow us to make decisions about our long term goals and motivate us to work hard like society values. Ultimately, there is a fundamental relationship between learning and motivation. Basic drives like hunger and social interaction cause us to make choices for a positive future career instead of making bad decisions. This is something I think we can all relate to; we make good decisions to help society, and ourselves. 

Do you think the lessons you learned growing up ultimately impacted your decisions and motivation in college? Feel free to let me know if you decide to reply to my post. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Rewards. [Google Slides Presentation]. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LuIvBGeeew7LCtLKyj9dQJqXbL9xh4eUi62rkeuEV8M/edit?slide=id.g2abecc5a1_011#slide=id.g2abecc5a1_011 

McLeod, S. (2025, March 17). Operant conditioning: What it is, how it works and examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html 

Impulsivity and Immediate Gratification

 Linked is an article on instant gratification and the issues it creates for our neuropsychology: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-brain/201909/the-real-issue-instant-gratification 

We make impulsive decisions when the immediate outcome feels more rewarding than a long term, better outcome (Berg, 2025). We might choose to play video games all night instead of studying hard for an exam the following day. Many of us have made decisions that feel good in the moment, but are detrimental in the long run. According to Psychology Today, instant gratification increases dopamine release in our brains, making these instant decisions feel more rewarding than more positive long term decisions (Frye, para #5, 2019). So when we play those video games or spend hours on social media instead of studying, we feel good because of the way immediate gratification impacts our neuropsychology. This is problematic because it teaches us to do what feels good now and not what is best for us long term (Frye, para #6-7, 2019). Eating at Burger King might feel good in the moment, but it can give us health issues later. We live in a world driven by immediate gratification, and sometimes, it is important to remember that restraint and long term planning are more important than how we feel in the present. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Impulsivity and self control. [Google Slides Presentation]. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t8RNaXnCnL1F9IClxiwed8IF2S67yXHiTRAXxCtFjeg/edit?slide=id.g2a7a18e1e_00#slide=id.g2a7a18e1e_00 

Frye, D. (2019, September 14). The real issue with instant gratification. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-brain/201909/the-real-issue-instant-gratification 

Reinforcement in Education

 I found a very interesting article on the use of reinforcement in school settings, linked here: https://online.ewu.edu/degrees/education/med/early-childhood-education/positive-reinforcement-in-learning/ 

Reinforcement is anything that will increase a behavior, as opposed to punishment that decreases the behavior (Berg, 2025). Throughout our lives we are socialized through reinforcement and punishment alike, but I think a lot of us work harder for a reward than out of fear of a punishment for undesired behavior. Children are given stars in school for getting questions right, an early form of positive reinforcement. According to Eastern Washington University, reinforcement is vital in the cognitive development of young minds (para #5, 2024). We have all been through the school system and know that teachers frequently reward students for hard work in their studies in order to motivate them to excel. Even grades themselves seem to be a form of positive reinforcement, as the good feeling you get when your paper is returned with an "A" motivates you to keep going with the same work ethic. Do you find that there are any examples of positive reinforcement that helped you in your education? Feel free to share if you leave a comment, and check out the article if you're curious to learn more about reinforcement in schools. 

References 

Berg, M. (2025). Motivation [Google Slides Presentation]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LuIvBGeeew7LCtLKyj9dQJqXbL9xh4eUi62rkeuEV8M/edit?slide=id.p#slide=id.p 

Eastern Washington University. (2024, May 16). Benefits of positive reinforcement in learning environments. https://online.ewu.edu/degrees/education/med/early-childhood-education/positive-reinforcement-in-learning/ 

Self Control

 Often taken for granted, self control is a gift. The ability to manage emotions, impulses, and behaviors is what facilitates long term goal setting and achievement. However, the process in which one regulates their self control can differ significantly from others. In the context of Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, the constant threat of the sea and freezing temperatures was bound to take a toll on the crew. After facing continuous misfortunes, Shackleton's rational optimism allowed the crew to continue towards their goal instead of succumbing to the negative thoughts. Having the ability to maintain a positive outlook highlights the human ability to adapt to any situation. 

Power of Human Spirit

 A key takeaway from the book, Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, was the power of human spirit. With most odds against the crew, their unwavering goal fuels their perseverance. Every task was daunting, but their ability to overcome extreme physical and mental exhaustion was awe-inspiring. Both perseverance and endurance can be applied to everyday tasks, no matter big or small. A huge part of life is navigating through challenges and not always do you succeed. In some contexts, failure is a stepping stone to success. Finding inner strength within yourself to persist in any circumstance is both one of the most challenging, yet rewarding tasks. 

Procrastination

 I am extremely guilty of procrastination. I always try and tell myself I work better under pressure and put things off till the very end. This eventually ends up stressing me out more had I just done the tasks in a timely manner. The Temporal Motivation Theory was really eye opening as it explains how and why I push things off till the very end. Honestly, I've distracted myself about three times now while trying to do this blog as ironic as it is. I always thought I had this mentality and pushed things off because of my ADHD. I found this short TedTalk video that explains the idea further as well.

Incentives

 I think incentives are an important part of society. Incentives can be good or bad depending on the person and what it is. The two aspects of incentives are the value ($100 vs $10) and utility (how useful it is to you). I often try to give myself incentives to help motivate myself to complete tasks. At my job, they give us the incentive of if we do a good task or a good job, we get a ticket entered into a raffle they pull each month for a $100 certificate as well as a $100 bonus on our pay checks. Another incentive we have is for every underage gambler we catch (I work at a casino), you also get $100. A small issue with this is that someone could see a young adult attempting to gamble and let it happen just so that they can get the bonus, when in reality they are supposed to be stopping them PRIOR to gambling. I found a neat little video that talks about incentives in the past.

Reproduction

The slides on reproduction were interesting. I never gave much thought to how reproduction influences dating. I always thought that people mainly look for shared interests or similar values when choosing a partner. But after reading the slides, I found that the evolutionary reasons were behind being attracted to someone. According to the slides, women tend to seek partners who can increase the survival chances of their offspring. Looking for traits like financial stability and ambition, which meant that their partner could offer long-term support. On the other hand, men are more likely to prioritize attractiveness, which is associated with fertility and reproductive health. I’m still not completely sure how appearance and fertility are linked, but I can understand that feeling attracted to your partner plays a part in both men and women. It does make sense to look for those things in a partner. In early human history, there was a focus on survival and reproduction to grow the population. Since many children didn’t survive to adulthood, having more children increased the odds of passing on genes and growing the population. As the children aged, they also helped care for the young, which ultimately improved the chances of survival.

Book Report

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KD5fO_P10l9TTHTzmNcda8Ec_pEKHIvy/view?usp=drive_link

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is a fascinating and honestly eye-opening look at how important sleep really is. The book explains what sleep is, why we need it, and what actually happens to our brains and bodies when we don’t get enough of it. Walker shares research that connects sleep to everything from memory and learning to mental health, immune function, and even how long we live. One of the biggest takeaways is that sleep isn’t just “rest”—it’s an active, essential process that keeps us functioning. He also talks about how modern life—like caffeine, alarms, and staying up late with screens—is hurting our natural sleep cycles more than we realize. After reading it, I definitely see sleep differently.
My favorite part of the book was the section on how sleep helps with learning and memory. I’ve always believed that staying up late to study is just part of student life, but this book completely changed my perspective. Walker breaks down how sleep—especially deep sleep—helps lock in what we’ve learned, and how REM sleep actually boosts creativity and problem-solving. It really clicked for me because we’ve read in class about how memory works and how repetition isn’t enough—you also need rest to process and retain info. Now I will try to get more sleep before tests instead of staying up all night, and I honestly feel like I’ll perform better.
This book connects a lot to what we’ve been learning about motivation. One example is how lack of sleep affects our self-control and decision-making. Walker explains that when we’re sleep-deprived, the brain becomes more impulsive and focused on short-term rewards—which lines up with what we discussed about how motivation and the reward system work. It also ties into the idea that our environment can either support or hurt our goals. In this case, if we’re constantly exhausted, we’re way less motivated to eat healthy, stay focused, or reach any of our goals.
To take this further, I actually started tracking my own sleep after reading the book using a free app, just to see if it would make a difference. I also recorded a short podcast-style audio clip talking about my experience and how the book changed my mindset—especially around late-night studying. I realized that sleep isn’t just about feeling rested; it affects how I learn, how I feel emotionally, and how motivated I am throughout the day. This book made me think about how much better things could be if schools and jobs encouraged healthy sleep—maybe we’d all be a little sharper, calmer, and more productive if we just got enough rest.

Drugs

The psychology behind drug use is deeply rooted in motivation—why people start using, why they continue, and what makes it so hard to stop. Many people turn to drugs as a way to escape pain, cope with trauma, or feel a sense of reward or relief. Drugs activate the brain’s reward system, releasing feel-good chemicals like dopamine, which can quickly create a pattern of craving and dependency. When someone’s motivation shifts from simply wanting to feel good to needing the substance just to function or avoid withdrawal, it becomes a powerful cycle that’s hard to break.

Withdrawal is one of the biggest psychological and physical barriers to quitting drugs. When the brain becomes used to getting a substance regularly, it stops producing or regulating certain chemicals on its own. So when the drug is taken away, the body and mind can go into a state of shock—causing symptoms like anxiety, depression, irritability, insomnia, and even physical pain. This can leave people feeling helpless and intensely unmotivated, as their brain struggles to function without the substance. Understanding how withdrawal impacts motivation shows why recovery isn’t just about “just saying no”—it’s about support, patience, and helping the brain relearn how to feel good without the drug.

Food

Food is more than just fuel for our bodies—it’s deeply tied to our emotions, habits, and motivations. Sometimes we eat because we’re hungry, but often we eat because we’re stressed, bored, celebrating, or even just because the food is there. Psychologically, our eating behavior is influenced by both biological drives (like hunger hormones) and emotional triggers. For example, when we’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, our brains crave comfort foods that give us a quick dopamine boost. This is where motivation comes in—our internal reasons for choosing what, when, and how much we eat can shape our health and overall relationship with food.

In the study of motivation, we often look at the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic reasons behind our actions. The same applies to eating: Are we eating to nourish our bodies and feel good (intrinsic), or because of outside pressure, habit, or reward (extrinsic)? Understanding the “why” behind our eating choices helps us build a healthier connection to food. When we become more mindful and motivated by long-term wellness instead of temporary satisfaction, we can start making choices that actually support our goals—both physically and emotionally.

Impulse and Self control

Impulse and self-control are like two voices in our heads constantly battling—one urging us to act fast for quick pleasure, and the other reminding us of our long-term goals. Impulses come from emotional, automatic parts of the brain like the amygdala, pushing us toward instant gratification, whether that’s grabbing junk food, procrastinating, or reacting without thinking. While these urges aren’t always bad, they often go against the things we actually want in the bigger picture—like staying focused, saving money, or keeping calm under pressure.

Self-control, on the other hand, is the ability to pause, reflect, and make decisions that line up with our true goals. It’s a skill that comes from the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s decision-making center—and it’s deeply connected to motivation. When we have a strong reason why we want to do something, we’re more likely to stay disciplined. Like a muscle, self-control gets stronger with practice. Learning to manage impulse and build self-control isn’t about being perfect—it’s about making intentional choices that reflect what matters most to us.

inscentives

 Incentives is something that we have all used or benefited from at some point in our lives. These are used to help motivate yourself or someone else to complete an undesired task. I work with preschoolers and this is something we use on a daily basis, often prompting the first the undesired task, then the incentive. This helps the children be able to follow directions and complete the things they may not want to do; it also helps teach them that once you do what you have to do, you can do what you want to do. Incentives are beneficial to everyone and they can help keep you on task. 

Book Report

     The book I chose to read was Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. This book is about a neuroscientist explaining how sleeping impacts our lives. That includes memory, immune system, learning, and emotions. The book talks about the different stages of sleep and their roles, how to improve sleep, how poor sleeping habits can be linked with diseases, and how it can effect physical and mental health. 

    One of my favorite parts from the book was the section about the roles of dreams. He said that dreams can act as overnight emotional therapy helping your brain to overcome your worries. They can also help with mood regulations meaning that after waking up we tend to feel less anxious and more emotionally balanced. I enjoyed this section of the book because I always wondered why dreams existed and what they meant. After reading this book, it helped better my understanding. This relates to what we learned in the lecture slides about performance because without a good night sleep, you wont perform at your best the next day because you'd be too tired. 

    I think about what I learned from this book everyday by making sure I get a good night sleep every night. I also noticed that after I have a good dream I wake up in a good mood, but if I have a bad dream I wake up anxious and nervous about it. I try to make sure I keep my body healthy and give it what it needs with a good night sleep so I have motivation the next day. 

Book Report

 Book Report: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker 

Why We Sleep is written by a neuroscientist and sleep expert, Matthew Walker explains the roles that sleep plays in our health, emotions, memory, and quality of life. This book breaks down the science of sleep into a language we understand, showing how the neglect of resting in modern society is causing widespread physical and mental problems. Walker uses decades of research to explain the differences in the type of sleep we need such as REM sleep, and non REM sleep. The theme of the book is simple but extremely important. Sleep is not optional, it is a necessity just like food and water. Walker also addressed how inadequate sleep affects everything down to decision making, fertility, mental illness and chronic diseases. The book ends with advice and policy recommendations for individuals, schools and governments to help prioritize healthy sleep. 

My favorite part of the book was Chapter 6, this discusses how sleep plays a crucial role in learning and memory. I found this interesting because I work with children and this is not something you always think about when a child is struggling, a lot of people just jump to the assumption that they are lazy, not that they are lacking sleep. In the chapter Walker explains that during sleep, specifically deep sleep the brain actively consolidates and recognizes information learned through the day. This means that getting the right amount of sleep is as important as studying. 

I can connect this book to the class through personal experiences. Taking classes in the summer while working 3 jobs sleep is something that definitely made its way to the back burner. This is something that I have noticed affected my school work and how I have performed in all of my classes compared to how they went in the Spring. 

My real world connection is how relevant this book is in today's world where burn out, technology addiction and 24/7 work culture are at an all time high. Walker's research can help to inform better school start times, and public health campaigns to set a new standard. He argues for a later start time for teenagers because of how lack of sleep impairs their learning and increases their risk for mental health problems. His work can also influence how tech companies design screen time features to reduce blue light exposure and screen time before bed to help wind down.  

My creative feature is recommending you all to download the Rise sleep app or the Mintal Tracker app on your phone. We are all on our phones all the time and this is something that can help you. Both of these apps recommend your ideal bedtime, and the times that your energy will be at their peak and lowest during the day along with telling you what your sleep debt is. They also track your sleep to tell you how long you are in REM sleep and how long you are only in light sleep. Knowing this information can help you maximize your sleep and maximize how it impacts your life.

Drugs

 The slides about drugs were very interesting. I think learning about how drugs and addictions affect the body is always interesting. Something I always think about when talking about drugs and addiction is teens in today's world, and not knowing how vaping and nicotine can affect them long term, they care more about being cool and fitting in. Many teens do not grasp the severity of using vapes because the consequences don't show immediately. The marketing and peer pressure also stack all odds against teens. Without the proper education and guidance, teens will continue to use these substances and they with suffer down the road. Using these products will cause issues with their lungs and brains. What is seen as a harmless "cool" habit can cause a plethora of health issues down the road. 

self control

 One thing that I find interesting when it comes to self-control is how people struggle with it so differently. Self-control plays a crucial role in all areas of life, including personal relationships, academic success, and career growth. People who have strong self-control tend to make better choices and resist distractions, which will lead to greater success. Lack of self-control can result in procrastination, unhealthy habits, and even strain relationships, which can prevent people from reaching their full potential. 

Personally, I lack self-control when it comes to time management. I find it really easy for myself to push off important tasks and cram them all in at the last minute opposed to giving myself plenty of time to complete a task. I think I do this because I work a lot and when I am not working I would rather go do something fun instead of something that I may find fun but is required to do. Recognizing this makes me want to develop better time management skills to help set myself up for success. 

Procrastination

 

After reading the slides about procrastination, I found it interesting that even though people know delaying an assignment might lead to a lower grade, they still do it, including me. I admit that I often catch myself procrastinating on schoolwork or household chores. Even though my parents sometimes get upset with me, I still do it. Learning about Temporal Motivation Theory helped me understand why I procrastinate. I tend to prioritize things that I enjoy or that are completely different from the task I’m avoiding. This theory really made sense to me because I usually do things I enjoy like watching a TV show or reading a book, before tackling my responsibilities like dishes or laundry. However, it doesn’t fully explain why I procrastinate on assignments. Part of the reason is that I sit down and complete the assignment when I’m closer to the deadline. The pressure gives me a reason to sit down and focus. I know that this isn’t the healthiest motivation, but at least I have a better understanding of why I do it.