Authentic goals, authentic drive: how to get and stay motivated

Authentic goals, authentic drive: how to get and stay motivated

Make sure YOU want it.

If we desire an authentic, long-lasting drive, we need to make sure that the goal we have chosen is truly ours, and not a product of outside influences. It takes hard work to achieve most goals: you can not afford to waste energy on inner fights about validity of your purpose. For example, if you want to do better in college, you need to find the way to engage yourself with the subject you are studying as well as clearly see the benefits of pursuing it. If you set out to perform well only because you feel like your family or society expects it for you, it will not amount to any inspired effort and will not bring the fulfillment you need and deserve.

Choose activities and set goals that inspire YOU and come up with your own unique ways of achieving them.

Chunk it.

Human beings are naturally inclined to act when they see a clear relationship between their actions and the desired outcome. If the goal is too distant, it helps to break it down into more doable "chunks". For example, if you are obese and trying to lose weight, it would be overwhelming to picture yourself in the body of an athlete, using that image to try to convince yourself to get out of cozy bed in the morning and go for a run. Your mind will just go "Who are you kidding? You will never be THAT thin. Better enjoy what you have and stop chasing shadows." It is typical for a rational mind to project future results based on what it sees in the present. If a goal seems far-fetched, the mind tends to dismiss it entirely. So a more realistic approach would be to set a goal of loosing 5, 10, 15 lbs. or a half an inch from your waste and focus on achieving that goal first, which in turn would serve as a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal of being fit.

Celebrate it!

There is no need to wait until you are as rich as Warren Buffet or as fit as Venus Williams to reward yourself for a job well done. Whenever you have reached one of your "stepping stone" goals, make sure you do something nice for yourself to mark the occasion. Our brain generates pleasure inducing chemicals when we do something good for ourselves and links that state to the events that preceded that, which in our case is working towards achieving our goal. That, in turn, conditions your mind to recognize that activity as a positive one, thus increasing your motivation.

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