"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." – Zig Ziglar
It’s hard to find an open treadmill at the health club this month. By February, the crowds will dissipate as motivation wanes and resolutions get replaced with busyness and daily distractions. It’s easy to start new things. The challenge is staying the course with discipline, focus and rigor required to get habits to stick for the long haul.
The science of motivation is complex, multidisciplinary and expansive. Psychological Factors that Guide Behavior outlines the three major components of motivation: activation, persistence and intensity. Activation is the decision to initiate a behavior. Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal. Intensity is the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a goal. Persistence and intensity are necessary to still be on the treadmill regularly in February, March, April and beyond.
There are two forms of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic comes from within and extrinsic comes from outside - getting a reward or avoiding punishment. Intrinsic motivation is critical to staying the course, especially the course that’s important and value-driven.
The Expectancy-value Theory of Motivation by Martin Fishbein assumes that a person’s behavior is determined by how highly a goal is valued, and by the degree to which the person expects to succeed. Motivation = expectancy x value.
In Drive, Dan Pink outlines three key elements of motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy is the urge to direct our own lives. Mastery is the desire to improve at something that matters to us. Purpose is that yearning to do something that is larger than ourselves.
Self-reflection can help develop a personal sense of meaning and purpose. Daily journaling is an effective strategy to uncover our purpose, achieve our goals, organize our thoughts and foster gratitude.
One popular method of journaling is The Bullet Journal® which was created by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer and author. “We have to externalize our thoughts to declutter our mind,” Carroll says. “Holding thoughts in your mind is like trying to grasp water — it’s nearly impossible. But by writing down our thoughts, we can capture them clearly so we can work with them later.”
He recommends these steps to be more intentional:
Create a mental inventory;
Consider why you are doing each of these things;
For every item on your list, ask two questions: “Is it vital?” and “Does it matter to me or someone I love?”
Take what’s left, and divvy it up;
Spend time every day — even if it’s just five minutes — revising your inventory;
Rapid logging is a way of taking notes in bullet format with symbols to categorize into tasks, event and notes. By taking notes quickly, you capture the idea immediately, not worrying about order so they get out of your head and on paper. Learn more about bullet journaling. and get 17 bullet journal ideas to spark your imagination.
“Unfortunately, time is not a renewable resource,” says Carroll. “It’s our responsibility to take the time to identify the things that interest us and figure out ways to pursue them.”
Whether your goal is improved health for more energy, a career change to keep growing or starting a new hobby to be more creative, make sure you define your “why” so you not only start but will persist and overcome obstacles that will occur in pursuit of challenging and meaningful goals. Create daily habits like journaling to keep yourself accountable and intentional, celebrate small wins and enjoy the journey to your new self.