The long-term motivation necessary to achieve significant goals cannot be manufactured with a pep talk, because the initial excitement always fades over time. Goal-setting skills, however, can help you to formulate goals that can keep you going even when progress is slow and setbacks are frequent. Well-formulated goals provide you with mental clarity, focus and frequent positive feedback.
Desire
For goals to motivate you they must be personally meaningful, asserts Dr. Timothy A. Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University. One way to make them meaningful is to connect your goals to your desires, because desire is the fuel that powers motivation. Imagine your ideal life as vividly as you can, then make a list of the differences between your ideal life and your current life. Transform this list of differences into a list of goals that you must accomplish to move from where you are to where you want to be.
Focus
One of the differences between a wish and a goal is the degree of specificity that it expresses. "Lose weight", for example, is a wish, while "Lose 36 pounds by November 30" is a goal. Attaching numbers, deadlines and details to your wishes can turn them into goals. Once you have specific goals, you will know exactly when you have achieved them -- and looking forward to achieving your goal tomorrow can motivate you today.
Performance vs. Outcome
Goals can be classified into two types -- performance goals and outcome goals. A performance goal tells you what you have to do -- run 10,000 meters in 40 minutes, for example. An outcome goal expresses the desired result of your performance -- finish among the top five competitors in a 10,000 meter race, for example. Performance goals can be superior motivators because they put the accomplishment of your goal in your own hands. Even if you run 10,000 meters in 40 minutes, whether or not you finish in the top five depends on the quality of your competition. Express your goal as a performance goal when an outcome goal introduces so many external variables that your ability to achieve it cannot be reliably determined.
Breaking It Down
Break your goals down into mini-goals, advises Hara Estroff Marano, editor-at-large of "Psychology Today" magazine. If your goal is to lose 36 pounds in a year, for example, plan to lose 18 pounds every six months and three pounds every month. Breaking your goals down this way will give you a chance to look forward to achieving a goal a month from now instead of a year from now. Some goals, such as exercise goals, can be broken down into weekly and even daily goals. Give yourself something to celebrate as often as possible.
Momentum
Keep track of the goals that you achieve in a journal, and review your journal periodically so that you can keep track of your progress. Making progress towards your goals brings emotional strength, and emotional strength makes it easier for you to achieve further goals, says Dr. Pychyl. As you continue to achieve your goals, your performance will improve and your pace will quicken in a manner similar to a boulder gathering momentum as it rolls down a mountain.
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