Why you want to achieve your goals is as important as your goals themselves. So learning to identify your reasons why you want to push yourself to lose weight, gain financial freedom or start your own business is a crucial step to achieving your final results. And your final results will determine your self-perception, self-esteem and motivation to continue to make changes in your life.
So, you can see that identifying why you want to achieve something can be as important, if not more important, than the goal itself.
There are several criteria to developing or finding your reasons that can help you outline the best possible factors in your quest to achieve positive results.
The first criteria is that your reason why must be positive and personal. We are structured as human beings to move toward something as opposed to moving away from something. In other words we find greater motivation, greater satisfaction and will work harder and longer to achieve a positive goal then we will to avoid a negative consequence. So when you\’re looking for a reason why you\’re doing something, look to the positive. Look for something that is significant in your own life and will have a positive end result.
For instance, if you want to lose weight your reasons can range anywhere from wanting more energy, wanting to develop a new personal relationship, wanting to spend more time with your grandchildren or wanting to keep up with your boyfriend/girlfriend. A negative reason would be to avoid the complications of diabetes or to avoid any of the other health risks which accompany obesity. A negative reason will be phrased as \”avoidance\” while a positive reason will be phrased as something you \”want\”.
Keeping your reason personal to your individual needs and specific situation will help but it also must have longevity. An initial reason why you\’d like to do something might be your children, your spouse or your grandchildren and while these reasons are personal and positive they may also be fleeting. Your children and your grandchildren are going to grow up and while you may believe the future of your relationship is solid life has a way of throwing challenges your way. Your reason why should be personal to you and not to the people in your life.
Many people find their reason why in surveying or helping others, in their spiritual journey or their personal philosophy. And it may be a reason why that drives you towards financial freedom as well as weight loss. Once you find a source of passion, maintaining your motivation will be easier and you will have a greater degree of success.
Through some serious soul-searching you can decide what matters most to you and then craft your own personal mission statement that encompasses your reason why and can pull you over the rough spots. Many people find their motivation, or their reason why, in times of intense sadness or intense joy. Through the challenges in our life, whether positive or negative, we often find passion that leaves us to a greater degree of success.
Who hasn\’t heard of the individuals who work hard to achieve a goal once they have experienced an intense loss in their life, such as the loss of a loved one from breast cancer or colon cancer. These are the individuals who find passion by helping to fund research or help to educate the public about preventative medicine.
You can identify your own reason \”why\” that will be your intense motivator through the challenges in your life and help you to achieve the goals and end results you desire.
RESOURCES
Harvard Business REview Blog Network: Solving Gen Y\’s Passion Problems
Entrepreneur: Can you Turn Your Passion Into a Profitable Business
Passive Panda: How to Find Your Passion
Naijapreneur: 7 Reasons Why Most Entrenpreneurs Fail in Business
Steve Pavlina: Cultivating a Burning Desire