Creating Goals That Motivate You to Take Action

Most people don’t accomplish their goals because they are too difficult.  Many make them too easy, and they aren’t motivating enough!  If your goals don’t motivate you, you won’t pay attention to them or take them seriously enough.  Mark Murphy, the author of “Hard Goals: The Secret of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,” suggests making them as difficult as possible and setting the objectives so they are essential to your well-being. 

Here are some essential points to remember from the book:

1.       Goals should be “HARD”:

a.       Heartfelt

Heartfelt refers to how much your heart NEEDS to accomplish this goal.  If it means that much to you, you will find a way to make it happen.  Motivation to achieve comes from emotional excitement, so if your goal does not excite you, then move on to another goal.

b.       Animated

Animated refers to how clearly you can visualize your goals.  We are all visual creatures.  What we daydream about and create in our minds eventually becomes our reality.  Be careful what you think about.  Imagine a picture of your goal that is bigger than life, and life, without hesitation or filter, will bring that image to fruition. 

c.       Required

Required refers to the life-and-death achievement of that goal.  In a research study mentioned by the author, 94% of respondents said that “procrastination hurt their happiness.”  You must feel that it is URGENT for you to accomplish this goal.

d.       Difficult

Difficult refers to sticking it out while going down the long and winding road of accomplishing your goals.  Goals that inspire us motivate us enough to see ourselves through to the end.  Many times, people give up just before they reach the achievement of their goal.  Why?  Because they don’t see that it is right around the corner.  The road is often foggy and non-specific, but just like driving, keep following the yellow lines or take one more step. Each step will lead you closer and closer to accomplishing the life of your dreams. 

2.       What else must you do Once you have defined your HARD goal?

a.       You have to put a date to it.  When will you accomplish this by? 

b.       Then, break it down into incremental steps.  If you want to accomplish your goal in one year, break it down by defining what you need to do in six months, three months, one month, this week, today. 

c.       Each day, ask yourself:  “What do I need to do today to stay on track with accomplishing my goal?”