“I’m just not motivated.” We say it and hear it all the time, but what if your lack of a fitness routine boils down to something else entirely? Maybe the failure to meet your goals is because you’re hyper-motivated.

Stay with us, here. According to a new study, too much motivation can affect our decision-making and, in turn, the choices we make to get to our goals.

The paper, published in the Neuron journal, found that motivation levels that are too high as well as too low can affect perception and therefore our choices. In the study, they trained mice to get water out of two different types of spout, then compared how they fared when they were very thirsty – therefore extremely motivated to drink – versus moderately thirsty and less motivated for water.

Too much motivation – rather than not enough – could be stopping you from hitting your goals