How To Truly Motivate Yourself To Do Anything

Published 03 February 2026 by

Martin Hamilton

You might think the best way to get yourself moving is to pump yourself up with positive statements like “I can do this” or “I’ve got this.” But there’s a problem with that approach. Your brain doesn’t like being told things it doesn’t believe, and it especially doesn’t like being commanded to do something. When you try to force motivation through declarations, your words often just bounce right off.

There’s a better way that actually works with how your brain naturally operates. Instead of telling yourself what you can do, try asking yourself if you can do it. This simple shift from statements to questions changes everything. When you ask a question, your brain automatically switches into problem-solving mode and starts searching for answers. This creates real motivation out of nowhere, even when you weren’t feeling it before.

Key Takeaways

Asking yourself questions creates more motivation than telling yourself positive statements because questions activate your brain’s problem-solving mode
Questions give you a sense of control and autonomy, which naturally increases your willingness to take action
Your brain hates unanswered questions and will actively search for solutions, which pushes you toward doing the thing you’ve been avoiding

Understanding Interrogative Self-Talk

What Is Interrogative Self-Talk?

This is a specific way of talking to yourself using questions instead of statements. When you need motivation to do something, you don’t tell yourself “I can do it.” Instead, you ask yourself “Can I do it?”

Your brain responds better to questions than statements. When you tell yourself something like “I’m confident” or “I got this,” your brain often rejects those words if it doesn’t believe them. The statements just bounce off while your brain stares back in disbelief.

But when you ask yourself a question, something different happens. Your brain shifts into problem solver mode. It starts actively searching for answers that push you toward taking action.

This approach works in different situations:

Social situations: Ask “What would a socially confident person do right now?” instead of telling yourself “I’ll be fine”
Work or studying: Ask “What would I have to do to make this happen?” instead of commanding yourself to lock in
Habits and procrastination: Ask “What’s the next thing I could do to build momentum?” instead of promising yourself you’ll get back on track

When you ask yourself a simple question like “Can I do it?”, you’re not asking for permission. You’re curiously questioning your ability. That curiosity is what creates the motivation you need.

Origins in Psychology and Research

This questioning method comes from multiple areas of psychology. Sports psychology, CBT, and emotional regulation research all contributed to its development.

In 2010, researchers ran an important study. They had people motivate themselves using two different approaches. The first group used declarative self-talk with phrases like “I will do this” and “I can do this.” The second group used interrogative self-talk and asked themselves whether they could do it.

The results were clear. Both groups increased their follow-through on tasks. But the questioning group increased their follow-through much more than the statement group.

The main finding was this: asking yourself questions engages your brain differently than giving your brain statements.

CBT therapists had been saying something similar for years. When a therapist tries to argue with a patient’s thoughts, it doesn’t work well. But when the therapist asks the patient questions, it helps loosen their rigid thinking much better.

There are four reasons why asking yourself questions works so well:

It bypasses psychological resistance
Questions activate search not defense
They reduce identity threat
They use your brain’s completion bias

Questions bypass psychological resistance. Your brain hates being told what to do, even by you. When you use phrases like “I must,” “I will,” or “I should,” you increase the pressure your brain feels. This makes your brain want to resist the action.

Questions with curiosity like “How could I?” or “What’s one way I could?” increase your sense of autonomy. Autonomy means how much control you feel over taking action or not. Self-determination theory shows that when your sense of autonomy increases, your motivation increases too. The less autonomy your brain feels, the more it resists what you’re trying to do.

Questions activate search not defense. When you ask yourself questions with curiosity, your brain engages its problem-solving networks and pattern-matching systems. When you use statements, your brain goes into self-evaluation mode. It asks itself if the statement is true and weighs what it means against your current identities.

Questions put your brain in problem solver mode instead of evaluator mode. If you want to achieve something, you need your brain solving problems, not evaluating statements.

Questions reduce identity threat. Your behavior gets complicated when there’s a mismatch between who you are and who you want to be. When you say “I am disciplined” or “I am confident” but your brain doesn’t believe it, this creates tension. There’s a misalignment between your actions and the identity you want.

This misalignment takes a lot of energy to maintain. Your brain constantly evaluates who you are based on what you tell yourself. When those things don’t match up, your brain overanalyzes, which drains energy.

But when you ask questions like “What would a disciplined person do right now?” or “What would a confident person do right now?”, your brain can work with this. You’re not forcing an identity that doesn’t match your actions. Instead, you’re seeing yourself in third person and opening your mind to the possibility of stepping into something new.

This shortens the distance between who you are and who you want to be. It’s no longer “I want to be this person but I’m not.” It becomes “What if I were like this?” Your brain works much better with the second option.

Questions use your brain’s completion bias. This is the most interesting reason. Unanswered questions make your brain uncomfortable. Your brain hates unanswered questions because they create an open loop. This loop runs as background noise in your brain.

Your brain understands that open loops require energy to maintain and cause tension. It knows that closing the loop by answering the question will give back that energy and relieve the tension. That’s why your brain actively searches for an answer and moves you toward action.

This explains something important. When you’re in a state of low motivation or stuck in procrastination with no energy, asking yourself questions creates motivation out of nothing.

How Asking Questions Increases Your Motivation

Getting Around Mental Resistance

Your brain doesn’t like being told what to do. This is true even when you’re the one doing the telling.

When you use statements like “I must,” “I will,” or “I should,” you might get a small boost in motivation. But most of the time, these statements just add more pressure. Your brain feels forced to act, so it pushes back against that action.

Questions work differently. When you ask yourself things like “How could I?” or “What’s one way I could?” you create a sense of choice. This feeling of choice is called autonomy.

Autonomy is a key part of feeling good mentally. It’s simply how much control you feel you have over doing something or not doing it. Research shows that when your sense of autonomy goes up, your motivation goes up too.

The key point is this: the less choice your brain feels it has, the more it fights against what you want it to do.

Turning On Problem-Solving Mode

When you ask yourself questions with genuine curiosity, your brain switches on its problem-solving systems. It starts looking for patterns and answers.

Statements work differently. When you tell yourself something, your brain goes into judging mode. It asks “Is this true?” It also checks if the statement matches who you think you are right now.

Here’s what matters:

Questions put your brain in problem-solver mode
Statements put your brain in judge mode

If you want to get something done, you need your brain solving problems, not weighing whether statements are true or false.

Lowering Identity Pressure

Human behavior gets tricky when who you are doesn’t match who you want to be. This mismatch creates a problem.

When you tell yourself “I am disciplined” or “I am confident,” but deep down you don’t believe it, you create tension. There’s a gap between your actions and the identity you want. Your brain has to work hard to manage this gap. It constantly checks your self-image against what you’re telling yourself.

When these things don’t line up, your brain overanalyzes. This takes a lot of energy.

But questions change this. When you ask “What would a disciplined person do right now?” or “What would a confident person do right now?” your brain can work with this much better.

You’re not forcing yourself into an identity that doesn’t fit your current actions. Instead, you’re seeing yourself from an outside view. You’re opening your mind to the chance of becoming different.

This approach makes the distance shorter. It changes your thinking from “I want to be this person but I’m not” to “What if I were like this?” Your brain works much better with the second way of thinking.

Using Your Brain’s Need to Finish Things

Your brain really hates questions that don’t have answers. Unanswered questions make your brain uncomfortable.

When you ask yourself a question, you create what’s called an open loop. This loop runs in the background of your mind. Your brain knows something important about these open loops:

They take energy to keep running
They create tension

Your brain wants to close the loop by finding an answer. This gives your brain back its energy and removes the tension.

This is why your brain actively searches for answers and pushes you toward action. When you’re in a state of low motivation or stuck in procrastination, asking questions creates this uncomfortable loop. Your brain wants to close it by finding answers that lead to action.

This is where motivation comes from when you ask yourself simple questions like “Can I do it?” You’re not asking for permission. You’re creating a question that your brain needs to answer, and this need pushes you into motion.

Real-World Uses for Daily Activities

Building Social Confidence

When you’re about to meet new people or go on a first date, you might feel nervous. You probably want to make a good impression.

Don’t try to pump yourself up by saying things like “I’ll be fine” or “I’m confident.” Your brain won’t buy it. Instead, ask yourself a simple question: “What would a socially confident person do right now?”

This question does something special. It makes your brain shift into problem-solving mode. You start thinking about actual behaviors and actions instead of trying to force yourself to feel a certain way.

The question helps you see yourself from the outside. You’re not claiming to be someone you don’t feel like right now. You’re just exploring what that person might do, which feels way more doable.

Getting More Done at Work or School

You have a big project staring you down. It feels overwhelming and you’re already behind. Your first instinct might be to tell yourself “Lock in and get this done.”

That approach usually doesn’t work well. Here’s what to do instead.

Ask yourself: “What would I have to do to make this happen?” This simple question engages your brain’s pattern-matching systems. Your brain automatically starts looking for solutions and breaking down the problem.

Why this works:

Your brain enters problem-solver mode instead of evaluator mode
You feel more control over your choices
You bypass the resistance that comes from being told what to do

When you ask the question with genuine curiosity, your brain treats it like a puzzle to solve. It starts finding answers and steps you can actually take.

Breaking Free from Procrastination and Low Energy

You’re stuck in a procrastination cycle. Your energy feels low and important things are slipping away. You might want to tell yourself “I’ll get back on track and make a comeback.”

Stop right there. That kind of talk just bounces off your brain because it doesn’t believe you.

Instead, ask: “What’s the next thing I could do to build momentum?” or simply “Can I do it?”

When you ask “Can I do it?” you’re not asking for permission. You’re curiously questioning your ability. This creates an open loop in your brain that it desperately wants to close.

Your brain hates unanswered questions. They run like background noise and take energy to maintain. So your brain will actively search for an answer to close that loop. That search process creates motivation where none existed before.

The key difference:

Declarative Self-Talk	Interrogative Self-Talk
“I will do this”	“Can I do this?”
Creates pressure	Creates curiosity
Brain resists	Brain searches
Low follow-through	Higher follow-through

This approach works especially well when you’re in a dopamine hole. Even when you have no energy, asking a question requires your brain to engage and find answers.

How Different Question Styles Work

Getting Started Questions

Your brain hates two things. Unanswered questions and being told things it doesn’t believe.

When you try to hype yourself up by saying “I can do it” or “I got this,” those words just bounce off. Your brain looks at you like you’re not making sense. But when you ask yourself if you can do something, your brain switches into problem solver mode. It starts looking for answers that push you toward taking action.

This creates motivation where none existed before. You get a burst of energy out of nowhere.

Here’s what to do in different situations:

For social events: Ask “What would a socially confident person do right now?” instead of telling yourself “I’ll be fine. I’m confident.”
For work or studying: Ask “What would I have to do to make this happen?” instead of saying “Lock in and get this over the line.”
For building habits: Ask “What’s the next thing I could do to build momentum?” instead of declaring “I’ll get back on track.”

You can also ask yourself a simple question: Can I do it? When you ask this, you’re not asking for permission. You’re curiously questioning your ability. That’s what gives you the motivation you need.

Questions That Lower Barriers

Your brain hates being told what to do, even by you. When you use statements like “I must” or “I will” or “I should,” it usually just increases the pressure your brain feels. This makes your brain want to resist taking action.

Questions work differently. When you ask yourself questions with curiosity, like “How could I?” or “What’s one way I could?”, you increase your sense of control. This control is called autonomy.

Why autonomy matters:

High Autonomy	Low Autonomy
More motivation	More resistance
Feels like your choice	Feels like pressure
Brain wants to act	Brain wants to avoid

Psychologists know from research that when your sense of autonomy goes up, your motivation goes up too. It’s a key part of doing well mentally. The less control your brain feels it has, the more it will resist what you’re trying to get it to do.

Questions That Give You Control

When you ask yourself questions with curiosity, your brain automatically turns on its problem solving systems. It starts looking for patterns and solutions.

When you use statements instead, your brain goes into evaluation mode. It asks itself “Is this statement true?” It weighs the statement against who you think you are right now.

The difference:

Questions = Your brain becomes a problem solver
Statements = Your brain becomes a judge

You need your brain in problem solver mode if you want to achieve something. Evaluator mode just slows you down.

Questions That Bridge Who You Are

Human behavior gets sticky when there’s a gap between who you are and who you want to be. When you use statements like “I am disciplined” or “I am confident,” but your brain doesn’t believe it, you create tension. This tension comes from a mismatch between your actions and the identity you want.

Your brain uses a lot of energy trying to maintain this mismatch. It constantly evaluates who you are based on what you tell yourself. When those things don’t match up, your brain overanalyzes. That takes tons of energy.

Questions fix this problem. When you ask “What would a disciplined person do right now?” or “What would a confident person do right now?”, your brain can work with this. You’re not forcing yourself into an identity that doesn’t match your current actions.

Instead, you’re seeing yourself from the outside. You’re not trying to squeeze into a hole you don’t fit into. You’re just opening your mind to the possibility of stepping into a new space.

This shortens the distance between who you are and who you want to be. It changes from “I want to be this person but I’m not” to “What if I were like this?” Your brain works way better with the second option.

Questions That Use Your Brain’s Quirks

Your brain hates unanswered questions. They make it uncomfortable. When you ask a question, it creates an open loop that runs in the background of your mind.

Your brain knows something important about open loops. They require energy to maintain and they cause tension. So your brain knows that if it closes the loop by answering the question, it gets all that energy back. It also relieves all that tension.

This is why your brain:

Squirms when you ask it a question
Actively searches for an answer
Pushes you toward taking action

This explains something important. When you’re in a state of low motivation, maybe you’re stuck procrastinating or in a dopamine hole, you have no energy. But asking yourself a question creates that uncomfortable open loop. Your brain wants to close it so badly that it finds energy you didn’t know you had.

Taking Action Moving Forward

You now know the main point. Stop telling yourself you can do things. Start asking if you can do them instead.

Your brain works better with questions than statements. This is because questions make your brain curious and ready to solve problems. Statements make your brain defensive and doubtful.

Here’s what you need to do in different areas of your life:

Social situations – Ask yourself “What would a socially confident person do right now?” when you feel nervousbefore meeting new people or going on a first date
Work or school projects – Ask yourself “What would I have to do to make this happen?” when you feel behind on an intimidating task
Daily habits – Ask yourself “What’s the next thing I could do to build momentum?” when you’re stuck in procrastination and wasting time

The key is to ask yourself simple questions like “Can I do it?” or “Can I make this thing happen?” You’re not asking for permission. You’re just questioning your ability in a curious way.

This type of questioning is called interrogative self-talk. It works because it does four important things for your brain.

Four ways questions help your brain:

They give you more control – Questions make you feel like you have autonomy instead of being bossed around
They turn on problem-solving mode – Your brain looks for answers instead of judging whether statements are true
They reduce pressure on your identity – You can explore possibilities without forcing yourself to be someone you’re not yet
They use your brain’s need to finish things – Open questions create tension that your brain wants to resolve by finding answers

Questions create open loops in your mind. These loops use up energy and cause tension. Your brain knows it can get that energy back by closing the loop with an answer. This is why your brain will actively search for solutions when you ask yourself questions.

This search for answers pushes you toward action. Even when you have low energy or feel stuck in procrastination, asking yourself questions can create motivation where none existed before.

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