At the end of the day, what makes your soul sing when you think about your goals?
Is it visions of fame, money, a great body, the perfect mate… or is it something even more rewarding than those obvious results?
We would like to share a little exercise with you that we hope will get you thinking about the single most important question you should ask yourself when you decide to go for something.
That question is, WHY?
Why is this goal so important to you?
The reason for this question is absurdly simple. Your “why” is the difference between a wishy-washy goal that you will only give a wishy-washy effort to… and the super-important goal that you will do anything and everything to attain.
Pick any one of your goals and ask yourself, “why do I want this?”
Ask most people why they want something big and you’ll probably get the fame and fortune answer. That one’s obvious but it also feels a little flat, a little incomplete. Sure, money is nice, but is it the real “why?” No, it’s not. Or if someone tells you their goal is to lose 5 kilogram’s. If you ask why, the immediate answer could be, so I look good in my clothes. Is that the real “why?” No. It’s how you FEEL when you’ve succeeded that motivates you!
It took us some time to figure out that unless we uncovered our “why”, we weren’t going to be motivated enough to go after our goals. If the “why” made sense to us and we truly desired to feel that way, then we would give my all to get to that place. And just as importantly, we were able to let go of goals that we held without a real “why.”
we had to learn to see the difference between goals that were ours and those that were externally motivated. It’s perfectly okay to realize that some of your goals may be externally driven by society, family, etc. and are just not right for you even if you try to convince yourself they are.
Since we’re so conditioned to want certain things, it pays to take a non-judgmental look at your goals. Sometimes an impartial listener can be a powerful ally in helping you uncover your “why.” If you discover a “why” that really speaks to you, then your goal is pure and right and perfect for you. Go for it! But, learn to recognize that for some goals, there’s no “why” that makes sense for you (for example, a goal of becoming a doctor because your parents want you to – is a goal motivated by wanting to make them happy… not you). Kindly say “no” and give your energy and attention to goals that have a clear and powerful “why.” Ultimately your happiness will make others around you happier! Underneath it all, the naked truth is, does a goal make me happy? Does it make me feel good?
We hope that you have some insight now on the importance of your own “why”. Find your “why” and motivation to succeed will never be an issue.