A goal-setting framework to retain motivation throughout your journey.
A simple formula to keep in mind.
Setting up goals is something that you must have tried at least once, maybe as new year resolutions or after a spike in hormones while watching an immense inspiring video at midnight. Be it any case, it’s often said that one must set goals in his/her life to be successful. But there are other gains as well that come along with goal setting and are often overlooked.
When you set a goal, you create a destination for yourself, a path to walk on and lead your life in a certain direction depending on what your goal is. You start to manage your time wisely and become selective about where you pay attention. When you have a BIG goal, and by big, I mean something that holds a large value, it adds meaning to your life, a sense of purpose, something to live for.
What seems to be the main obstacle in coping up with goals is maintaining motivation and what I will be sharing with you right now can be used as a remedy for it. Also, it is a reference that can be used when setting up goals and to be persistently aligned with them with motivation.
It is influenced by many articles, from which, psychologycompass.com is my favorite and is backed up by several research articles from different fields of psychology.
The Formula
Motivation = Goal value + Self belief
The biggest share of our motivation to complete a goal is dependant on goal value and self-belief. Sure there are can be other factors as well, but these two seem to be a big deal, so we’ll discuss how to alter them to gain maximum motivation.
Let’s talk about goal value first.
Goal Value
1. Set clear goal definitions
a) Make the goals specific
What do you want to do?where?when? Write down all the specifications you can think of. The more specific you are, the better you know where to focus on.
Goal Pyramid
After making your goals, it’s time to sort them out. This pyramid divides your goals into different sections. The peak represents your “THE” goal, and the base represents what you will do on a daily basis in order to reach the peak. Notice how I didn’t relate the peak to be the most important one because all the sections must be equally valued for the pyramid to stand.
b) Set deadlines — “A goal without a deadline is a dream”
It will make sure to push you out of your comfort zone.
c) Make it realistic yet challenging — Growth happens in discomfort.
d) Purpose to choose this goal — “why?”
This is the most important one. Sometimes people don’t know the reason for choosing a certain goal and part of the reason for it can be that someone else has chosen the goal for them. A shining example of this is career goals.
For instance, I had asked my neighbor kid who’s about 7 years old, if he had decided what he wanted to become. He replied, “Engineer”. Talk about hardwiring. He definitely doesn’t know what engineering means. I mean I am in my 5th semester of computer science engineering, yet I am still trying to figure out the difference between RAM and ROM.
Ask yourself, “What’s the reason for your current goals? What is the reason you had/have chosen a certain goal/career/life choice? Are you being loyal to your commitment unnecessarily? Is this struggle that you are facing right now to achieve your goals even worth facing?”
When you choose a goal, make sure you know the reason behind it. Though, it isn’t necessary to always have a plausible(reasonable) explanation before doing something. Curiosity is a valid reason too.
2. Practice future-forward thinking.
Delay discounting is a psychological tendency where one gives up on the long-term goals and settles for instant gratification. It’s a common thing, we all do once in a while.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you gave up on a goal just because you thought it would take too long to achieve or that your “small actions” weren’t enough for it?
This habit reduces the goal value and one of the ways to counter this is by future-forward thinking. A very ordinary example of this, if your goal is to get your body in shape, can be imagining yourself in your dream body, with every detail you can imagine — how cool would it be to have that body, being able to wear any clothes you want, not worrying much when you eat your favorite food. Things like these can increase your motivation and enable you to start working for your targets.
(A friendly reminder from my side — If you are trying to get in shape, know that no matter how your body is right now, it’s trying its best to function. Don’t hate it for some perfect body you imagine to have in the future)
Though this technique works to gain motivation, I am a bit skeptical about it because thinking of the future diverts our attention from the present moment, which I would like to avoid for the majority of the time. Just make sure to not overdo it.
Self Belief
- Track progress
To explain this, let’s take the same example of working out. Let’s assume you have followed all the things I have talked about till now, taking action, hitting the gym regularly, future thinking, blah blah. BUT what if you had to continue this whole fitness journey without looking at yourself in the mirror, not even once. How long do you think you could keep up?
Not much.
You see, no one will be willing to continue the task for a long time if there is no sign of progress.
It’s common to overlook the impact small actions can have in the long run. This is where creating mini-goals comes into play.
Create mini-goals that would help you to come closer to your main goal. Write them down in a journal or anywhere you can and as you start completing it, tick them off from the list. This very process of ticking off helps in creating bits of emotions of productivity and satisfaction that will keep you motivated.
ps: don’t forget to reward yourself for your progress.
2. Handling mistakes & failures
“Practice Makes Perfect”
You know what I disagree with this famed quote. First, no one can be perfect. There’s always something to learn. Second, practice isn’t enough. What’s needed is Perfect Practice.
Whatever task you do, you will likely make mistakes and probably fail at it. That’s bound to happen, but here’s what people miss out on from making mistakes, including me — Learning from those mistakes.
Allow yourself to fail and make mistakes. Once that happens, look out for what you can learn from it. Is there anything that you did wrong? Are there any loopholes in your process? If there is, then pivot(change). Be aware of the path you are walking on. That’s how you’ll grow and gain experience.
“Learning from mistakes is the only use of mistakes you can make”.
That’s it from my side. It isn’t a MUST to follow all the ideas that I have shared. I would recommend you to try each at a time and put them in your toolbox if they seem to be helpful. Everyone has their way of doing things and gaining motivation, so look out for what works best for you.
Moreover, don't lose yourself in this process of accomplishing goals. Pause and take a chill pill once in a while.
Byes.
