How to find motivation to achieve your goals
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they try to achieve a goal is they wait for inspiration and motivation. Imagine if everyone on the planet waited for motivation to get work done….. Productivity would drop to zero, and the economy would collapse. Research into productivity has shown that achievement has anything really to do with real motivation. People are doing the things they have to do to achieve a certain goal. That goal may have been set by them or their employer. It doesn’t matter who set it – it’s set, and it will get done. The people who are waiting for motivation to strike, not realising that it’s unnecessary will never realise their full potential. Motivation to achieve your goals is not important, action is important. This is the key to success.
Motivation doesn’t exist
You probably have heard of the myth of the starving artist who can’t paint, or the Writer with Writer’s block. It’s interesting that these creative professions share the same myth. As we often see with weight loss. The notion that some secret motivation has to appear in order for the person to achieve success – some mysterious spark of inspiration that will get you off your bum doing what you need to do.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. Doing, not thinking, gets results, time and again. Successful people don’t wait. Successful people just do. They are people who get up out of bed every single day, rain or shine, and do things that lead to a result of success. The successful singer sings every day, if they hate book-keeping they hire someone to do it for them so they can focus on their art. The successful writer, writes; the successful doctor – treats people. If you want to be successful at something, do it. Live it. You will succeed.
Successful people are not smarter than you
Success isn’t about who’s smarter. Most of the time, successful people are no smarter than anyone else. Look at the most successful actors you know. Without exception, they are people who practice their craft every single day. They are doing it, not thinking about doing it, or dreaming of doing it. They go to auditions, get rejected, and then get up the next day and do it again.
Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
S.M.A.R.T stands for ‘specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely’ and they can seem like an outdated goal setting system. However, it’s still valid and every goal you set should meet that standard. You need to be specific and realistic enough about what you want so you can measure it and you can act on it in a specific time frame. If it’s not, then it’s not really a goal; it’s a dream.
Envision success
Some people think vision boards are a bunch of hocus pocus, but being able to truly visualise yourself experiencing success will really help you to actually create success in your life. There are people good at seeing it in their mind and believing it, but others need more belief. Try making a vision board so you can see your dream down on paper and then you can decide on your S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Follow a schedule
Doers do. Successful people do. A ‘to do’ list will not cut it; you need to make a schedule and stick to it. If you want to write a 10,000 word eBook to sell to your target audience, you need to start at the end. Then work your way backwards making a schedule that’s realistic for you to get the work done. Then let nothing stop you.
Experience success
Set some smaller goals, so you can feel what success is like. Getting a mini win will really keep you going. If you’ve never once stuck to anything, you can’t know what success feels like and so you have nothing to push you forward. People who experience success like to experience it again, and the more success you experience, the more you realise that you can. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Repeat everything
Finally, keep doing it repeatedly. With anything you want to achieve, set the goal, track your success and do something every single day toward achieving that goal. Again and again. It’s really that simple.
Motivation is a figment of our imagination, and not something that most people have. Most people get up in the morning by hitting the snooze button a few times, and most people do not feel especially happy about doing certain things. What they feel happy about is the result, the deliverable. Place your focus there, and you will not need any motivation because you will be successful. I hope this has given you some insight into the need for motivation to achieve your goals.
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