What Makes Us Tick?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 by Stephen Elliott

When it comes to motivational strategies, it really helps to know what makes a person tick. When I was in high school, my parents knew that my downstairs (private) bedroom was important to me. They knew I valued the privacy and quiet it offered me. They also knew that playing football was an activity that I highly valued. They didn't misuse their knowledge of what I felt attached to and believed I needed by frequently threatening my vulnerabilities, but they let me know in no uncertain terms that if I made a large-scale bad choice, my valued items and activities would be gone in an instant. I can hear them now, "Steve, if you ever sneak out of the house or do something in your downstairs bedroom that is terribly wrong, then that very night, your younger brother will be sleeping in your bedroom permanently and you will be moved back upstairs with us!". "Yes sir, yes ma'am", I said, and it worked like a charm! Best wishes, Stephen S. Elliott, Ph.D., Child & Adolescent Psychologist

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