About the project

In our developed societies, many people refuse to seek further education opportunities or participate in social life. The current health crisis has further accentuated this unease of many citizens concerning their civic obligations, and some are looking for meaning in gainful activities, work, and learning. Young adults, including the unemployed and NEETs, find it challenging to find a job, and it is increasingly difficult for them to maintain their motivation. We have identified a real social problem linked to demotivation. The COVID19 pandemic further demotivates people. It destroys their jobs and employment prospects, disrupts their training, and has a serious impact on their mental well-being (ILO 2020). (http://bit.ly/2OuvBgr). In addition, motivation is identified as one of the critical factors in NEET status. (Pemberton, 2008; Furlong et al., 2003).

The tendency for people to lack motivation becomes enduring. This is also the case for adults to step out of society, out of the labor market, or lose confidence. The trend shows a severe problem in our communities that cannot be solved sustainably with the existing measures. If we don’t change our methods to address the motivational issues of our target groups, we will not be able to develop social inclusion. Most importantly, GRIT can be developed by practicing self-control, autonomy, and purposeful motivation in your day-to-day life. There is a scientifically proven method of achieving higher performance levels through a “grit activation” process. (Randin Brons, 2001)

The GRIT activation is an easy-to-use, scientifically proven strategy for achieving higher levels of performance that can be applied to any key goal or challenge in life. The process involves identifying a personal “deep why” – the fundamental motivation behind your goals and ambitions. A neuroscience research study looked at the impact of emotion on one of the factors known to be a great predictor of success – “Grit”: passion and perseverance for achieving long-term goals. One of the most exciting findings from the study was that how we process these emotions directly impacts our ability to persevere when faced with challenges.

Project impact on the target groups will be:

〉 Adults, including NEETs:

• Understanding the consequences of low motivation during the critical age of 18-24, when is the usual transition from study to work;
• Gaining a new perspective and insight into the development of their individual personal and professional development plan based on passion and intrinsic motivation;
• Gaining perseverance skills
• Knowing how to overcome demotivation

〉 Adult trainers:

• Learn to dialogue with people who are far from employees about lack of motivation;
• To improve their understanding of lack of motivation and its effects on themselves;
• Learn a new training methodology for lifelong motivation based on character development;
• Learn new training techniques – game-based learning, collaboration, and coaching;

The project will innovate and create a new competence framework and educational program for adult trainers, preparing them for exactly what they need when supporting and motivating young adults and adult people. In addition, we will focus on game-based training and coaching techniques for adult trainers, which will add value to the development of our methodology.

Objectives: What do you want to achieve by implementing the project?

Our solution is to create a methodology for Character development with the combination of the GRIT and Growth mindset.

In psychology, GRIT is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s perseverance of effort combined with the passion for a particular long-term goal or end state (a powerful motivation to achieve an objective). This perseverance of effort promotes overcoming obstacles or challenges that lie on the path to accomplishment and serves as a driving force in achievement realization. Distinct but commonly associated concepts within the field include perseverance, hardiness, resilience, ambition, need for achievement, and conscientiousness. These constructs can be conceptualized as individual differences related to the accomplishment of work rather than talent or ability. (http://bit.ly/3eEijJ0) The grit skill is a skill of the character of the person. Your character is the very foundation of who you are as a person and determines the path your life will take. Your character controls how you deal with pressures and temptations. It defines your limits or gives you the strength to move beyond them. It determines how you handle your relationships, career, health, and virtually every other aspect of your life. In cognitive psychology, a mindset represents the cognitive processes activated in response to a given task (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindset ). According to Carol Dweck (Professor of Psychology at Stanford University), individuals can be placed on a continuum according to their implicit views of “where ability comes from”. In particular, an individual’s mindset impacts how they face and cope with challenges, such as transitioning into junior high school from elementary school or losing their job. “In a growth mindset, individuals understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence. They do not necessarily think everyone is the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.” (Carol Dweck., 2012).

Benefits of usage of our results on the final recipient’s group: Improved lifestyle and preventing effect of low motivation Easier transition from study to work, based on their passion and intrinsic motivation Building up perseverance skills for better coping with any kind of issues in future life Significantly reduced possibility to become or to stay NEETs A better ability to find work, to integrate into society and to maintain social links. Therefore, our project focuses on how to handle the problem of low motivation with a universal approach that can be helpful to adults and adult trainers.