How can you use motivational interviewing to reflect on your performance after meeting a deadline?

1 What is motivational interviewing?

Motivational interviewing is a technique that helps people explore and resolve their ambivalence about changing their behavior. It is often used in counseling, coaching, and health care settings to help clients overcome barriers and enhance their motivation for change. Motivational interviewing is based on four principles: expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with resistance, and supporting self-efficacy. These principles can also be applied to yourself, as a way of reflecting on your performance after meeting a deadline.

2 How to express empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. When you express empathy to yourself, you acknowledge and validate your emotions, thoughts, and experiences related to meeting a deadline. You can use reflective listening, a skill that involves repeating or paraphrasing what you hear, to express empathy to yourself. For example, you can say to yourself: "You worked really hard to meet this deadline. You felt anxious and overwhelmed at times, but you also felt proud and satisfied when you finished."

3 How to develop discrepancy

Discrepancy is the gap between your current situation and your desired goals. When you develop discrepancy, you compare and contrast your performance with your expectations, standards, or values. You can use open-ended questions, a skill that involves asking questions that require more than a yes or no answer, to develop discrepancy. For example, you can ask yourself: "How does meeting this deadline fit with your long-term goals? What did you do well and what could you do better? How satisfied are you with the outcome?"

4 How to roll with resistance

Resistance is the tendency to avoid or oppose change. When you roll with resistance, you accept and explore your reasons for not changing your behavior, rather than arguing or forcing yourself to change. You can use affirmations, a skill that involves expressing appreciation or recognition for your strengths, efforts, or values, to roll with resistance. For example, you can say to yourself: "You have a lot of skills and experience that helped you meet this deadline. You have valid reasons for not wanting to change your habits or routines. You are the best judge of what works for you."

5 How to support self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is the belief in your ability to achieve your goals. When you support self-efficacy, you enhance your confidence and optimism for change. You can use summaries, a skill that involves linking and highlighting the main points of your reflection, to support self-efficacy. For example, you can say to yourself: "You have shown that you can meet deadlines, even when they are challenging and demanding. You have identified some areas for improvement and some strategies for change. You have the resources and the motivation to make positive changes."

6 How to use motivational interviewing to reflect on your performance

Motivational interviewing is an effective skill to apply when reflecting on your performance after meeting a deadline. You can set aside time and space to reflect, use reflective listening to express empathy to yourself and acknowledge your emotions, thoughts, and experiences related to the deadline. Open-ended questions can be used to develop discrepancy and compare and contrast your performance with your expectations, standards, or values. Affirmations can help roll with resistance and accept and explore your reasons for not changing behavior. Summaries can support self-efficacy and enhance confidence and optimism for change. Finally, make a plan for action and follow up on progress and challenges. Incorporating motivational interviewing into your reflection process can help you celebrate achievements, identify areas for improvement, and enhance motivation for change. Additionally, it can support developing a growth mindset , a belief that you can learn and improve from experiences, rather than a fixed mindset, which assumes abilities are innate and unchangeable.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?