Principle 53 :

   follow to Principle 52:

1. Evaluate Your Motivation

If you’ve lost momentum toward your goals, the first thing to do is verify your commitment. A lot of our goals tend to be “should’s” rather than deep “want to’s.” But I’ve discovered that without a burning desire to achieve a goal, your motivation wanes quickly, and your subconscious mind turns its attention to more exciting desires.

For example, many people set New Year’s resolutions to lose weight – a goal that often falls into the “should” category. We feel like should lose weight because it will make us healthier, reduce stress on our joints, and make us feel more confident and attractive. Unfortunately, these benefits are typically not compelling enough to motivate us to keep our commitment to lose the extra pounds.

However, if you find out that a new baby will soon join your family, your “why” suddenly becomes bigger. Now you’re motivated to lose weight because doing so will increase the odds that you’ll be around to watch that baby grow into adulthood.

Pull out your list of goals, and for each one, ask, “What is my why? Why do I want to achieve this? And am I committed enough to my why to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal?” By identifying or even upgrading your “why,” you can tap into greater motivation and commitment to achieve your goal.

Jack Canfield