Now that you realize how important it is to have a strong sense of commitment to accomplish your goals (After reading my goal setting series), the big question is how do you do it? Some will find this question easy to answer, but execution is always the challenging task.
But really, it’s very simple. We are driven by one of two things. The desire to gain pleasure or the need to avoid pain. Isn’t it? It’s the “carrot and the stick” principle that has been used to motivate people for all time. The secret is to take charge of the carrot and stick (Never thought of this?) and use it to motivate yourself.
Go back to your 3 goals that you set the other day and, on another page in your journal, write a short paragraph describing, in detail, all the benefits you will gain by achieving each particular goal. Remember to use some of the questions that I posted earlier to help you in this process. Really motivate yourself. Focus on the great feelings, the benefits to our family and how much better your life will be when you have accomplished this goal. Now, do this for each of your major goals.
Next, do the opposite. Write a short paragraph describing what you will lose and what you are already missing out on by not having achieved your goal. Be tough on yourself. Very
often we will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure (Am I right?). So, if you can conjure up enough pain, real or imagined, you will be able to motivate yourself through any situation. Likewise, use some of the questions in my earlier posts to assist you in this thinking process.
This simple exercise will help get you through the tough times. When you feel like giving up, come back and re-read your reasons for wanting your goals in the first place. As you
progress, you can add to your reasons for wanting your ideal life.
To make sure your trip is proper, do some strategic planning before you start out. Again, please use some of the questions and techniques that I posted earlier like when is the best time to begin?Does it make sense to break the journey down into small pieces? What obstacles do you anticipate encountering? What’s your plan for navigating around these obstacles? What type of resources do you need? etc.
As you head down the road, remember to look around. You don’t want to be so focused on your plan that you miss out on wonderful and unexpected opportunities along the way.
Tags: Goal Setting, Strategic Planning, Carrot and Stick, Challenging Task, Motivation
2 responses so far ↓
1 Tomas // Jan 16, 2008 at 3:53 pm
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2 J.W // Jan 23, 2008 at 11:43 pm
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