My research focuses on human motivation. It has progressed from basic studies of achievement motivation early in my career to developing behavioral interventions that engage motivational targets to promote health behavior change more recently. Broadly speaking, I am working to develop tools that help people do the ordinary behaviors that can have an extraordinary impact on their lives. Physical activity is an excellent example of one of these ordinary behaviors. Fewer than one in four American adults attain the recommended level of physical activity and one in three engage in no leisure-time physical activity. Insufficient physical activity impacts more physiological systems and health outcomes than perhaps any other health behavior. If a medication had such far-reaching effects, it would be a blockbuster drug that would revolutionize healthcare. Unfortunately, lifestyle behavior change is a major challenge for most people. Many behavioral interventions have been developed to promote physical activity but often suffer from common flaws – they require people to work hard doing activities that often are not immediately rewarding. My work aims to develop creative strategies that engage motivational processes that can make behavior change less effortful and more enjoyable.