Motivational Tip #1: Shift to a “Creative Orientation” in Defining Your Goals.
It’s so important to know how to define our goals for ourselves in a way that naturally motivates us.
When we understand how to most effectively define our goals, we start a chain reaction within ourselves that generates the energy and the follow-through for bringing our goals into being. And there’s nothing more exciting than that!
Here is the first of FIVE TIPS on how to successfully DEFINE YOUR GOALS to genuinely motivate yourself.
#1: Begin by answering the question: “What do I truly want to create?”
This will shift you into a “creative orientation,” which is very important & very powerful.
To say it in simple terms… focus one what you want, rather than what you don’t want. Make your goal something you truly value. It’s about choosing what’s really important to you. And it’s best thought of as something you want to create, a result or experience you want to bring into being.
This may seem obvious, but many people incorrectly focus on what they’d like to get rid of, rather than what they’d like to create. Focusing on what you don’t want, what you’d like to get rid of, is a “problem solving” orientation. And even when you succeed at getting rid of what you don’t want, what have you got when you’re done?
The answer is… nothing.
It’s hard to get motivated, to feel the natural excitement of really wanting to get your work done, when you’re problem solving. Because you’re not really working to create what you want.
So, Tip #1 is more important than you might think.
Get in the habit of asking yourself, “What do I truly want to create?”
This will shift you into a creative orientation. And it is from a creative orientation that you’ll begin to experience authentic motivation.
Let’s look at this a little further…
> Here’s a question for you: Each year, what is the most common New Year’s resolution?
You guessed it!… to lose weight. To get rid of something we don’t want!… a classic problem solving approach. And, as is so common with efforts to lose weight, a problem solving approach will almost always create an “oscillating experience.” Don’t let the word “oscillating” throw you. I’m talking about that experience best described as “two steps forward, followed by two steps back.” First there is some success. You lose 15 pounds. Hooray! But all too soon that is followed by a reversal as you gain back 14 pounds. Oh no! Two steps forward is followed by two steps back. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth. Like going around in circles.
If you’ve ever had that kind of experience with anything you were trying to accomplish — and who hasn’t? — chances are you were engaged in some kind of problem solving. This problem solving approach is an easy habit to get into. Our culture admires it and reinforces it. But it is structurally unsound. And you won’t experience natural motivation and follow-through this way.
So, to increase your personal motivation, be certain your goal is something you want to create, rather than something you want to get rid of or eliminate.
Staying with our weight-loss illustration for just a little longer, people who shift to a creative orientation about their bodies, who choose to create a trim healthy body, rather than focus on getting rid of weight they don’t don’t want, are capable of sustaining action and changes in their behavior that successfully support the creation of long-term excellent health. And, their bodies slim down as a by-product of the choice they have made and the actions they take to create health and vitalilty.
When we are faced with what we perceive to be a problem, we certainly don’t want to ignore it or deny it. Our problems can be very real. However, when faced with a problem, learn to ask yourself what you would like to create instead, in this area of your life or work. This way, our problems do not become our primary focus. Our primary focus will be on creating results that are most important to us.
Develop the habit of asking yourself, “What do I truly want to create?”
This will shift you to a creative orientation. And that is the most powerful and highly motivating approach to living your life.
Tip #2 is also important, and you’ll notice it’s impact on your energy right away.
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