Lesson 4. When your goals are vague, motivation will fade

Welcome back to Methods to Motivation, a free multi-part course on how to gain + maintain motivation.

Here’s what we’ve covered so far:

• 1. Clarify what you want
• 2. Internalize your motivation
• 3. Motion leads to motivation

Now, let’s dive into Lesson 4…

When your goals are vague, motivation will fade

Motivation is like a fickle, fleeting, emotional creature with ADHD. It’s difficult to get it to focus on a single thing for an extended period of time—unless you provide it with very specific directions.

When you’re unable to tap into the motivation you need to succeed, it might be because whatever thing you want to get motivated for is too vague.

Here are a few examples of common goals that are way too vague:

• – Wake up early
• – Exercise more
• – Eat healthy

If you were to make a goal out of any of the examples above, here’s how things would most likely play out:

You’ll start off feeling excited and motivated…

But after a little while, you’ll notice that the motivation fades away and loses its potency.

So, what’s the fix?

Specificity.

How to apply this method

STEP 1.
Remember: to feel motivated about a goal, give your brain very specific + actionable directions.

Doing this will provide it with the controlled focus it needs to unleash the drive and motivation you’re looking for.

STEP 2.
Ask yourself, “How will I know that I’m successful?”

Asking yourself this question forces your brain to get specific about what your desired outcome/goal looks like, which in turn ignites your motivation by giving you a vision to work toward.

STEP 3.
Answer the question above with something specific + measurable. 

This is where you begin to formulate your plan of action to feel motivated in pursuit of your goal.

Let me share a quick example to bring this method together.

Let’s say you’ve got a goal to run a marathon six months from today.

You know you need to train hard to prepare, but you’re struggling to find the motivation to do so.

Here’s how you might put a specific plan together to spark motivation when you need it most; and even more importantly—sustain that motivation until marathon day:

1. Ask yourself, “How will I know that I’m successful?”

—I’ll run my first marathon. (This is your ultimate goal)

2. Get specific by writing down sub-goals/milestones to help you achieve your ultimate goal.

—Be able to run 3 miles without stopping by X date

—Be able to run 5 miles without stopping by X date

—Be able to run 7 miles without stopping by X date.

and so on…

3. Make it measurable by tracking your progress.

—I’ll time every run.

—I’ll track my miles at every training session.

—I’ll review my progress weekly

The more specific you make the actions and habits you need to take up, the smaller they become.

And the smaller the action, the easier it is to motivate yourself to do it.

Eventually, those small, specific steps you take daily will stack on top of one another—which leads to a sustained sense of motivation and accomplishment.

Wanna take a deeper dive? Check out my new audio program, Month of Motivation: 30 days of methods to gain + maintain your motivation.

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