Daily Motivation Achievement

Follow these ten steps for guaranteed goal achievement.

At the beginning of the year I encouraged my readers to set the resolution of reading Leo Tolstoy’s magnum opus, “War and Peace”. It’s one of the goals that I set for myself this year, and I’m doing very well with it. I sat down to analyze the process that I’m using to work on this goal, and I came up with a ten-step process which can be applied to any goal.

I explain the ten-step process below in case anyone out there needs some help keeping up with their goals and resolutions. I’m also going to use this analysis to modify my approach for a couple of other goals that aren’t coming along so well.

So, without further ado, below you’ll find ten steps for guaranteed goal achievement.

1. Choose a Goal That Motivates You.

One of the key elements of successful goal achievement is motivation. When you set a goal, make sure that it’s important to you, and that it has value. That is, the goal must have clearly defined benefits. In addition, the goal should be relevant to your life’s bigger picture. When you set a goal make sure that you’re highly motivated to achieve that goal by doing the following:

Ask yourself if you feel pushed to set the goal based on the expectations of others, or if it’s something that you feel pulled to do based on your own needs, wants, and aspirations. Obviously, you want to make sure that your goal falls into the second group.

Ask yourself the following: “From 1 to 10, how badly do I want this goal?”

If you had to explain to a friend why you’re working on this particular goal, what would you say?

Write down all of the benefits that you expect to receive if you achieve your goal.

Lastly, ask yourself how your goal fits into your life’s bigger picture. As an illustration, reading “War and Peace” fits into my medium-range goal of reading the most important books of Russian literature. That, in turn, fits into my long-term goal of reading the 365 most important books ever written.

Once you’re sure that you’re very motivated to pursue the goal that you’ve set for yourself, move on to the second step of the process.

2. Make It Specific.

I’m sure you’ve heard the following a million times: vague goals produce vague results. If you want positive, unambiguous results, your goals have to be specific. Below you’ll see how the goal of “Read ‘War and Peace'” goes from being extremely vague, to being incredibly precise and specific:

I want to improve myself.

I want to read more.

I’m going to read the classics.

I’m going to read the classics on my list of “365 Classics to Read Before I Die”.

I’m going to read the Russian Classics on my list of “365 Classics to Read Before I Die”.

I’m going to read Leo Tolstoy’s two greatest works: “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”.

I’m going to read “War and Peace”.

I’m going to read the Maude translation of “War and Peace”.

I’m going to read the Maude translation of “War and Peace” found here.

I’m going to read the copy of “War and Peace” I’m holding in my hand (after I had purchased and received the copy that I wanted from Amazon).

Look at your goal and ask yourself where it would fit in the above continuum in terms of specificity. Keep asking yourself, “How can I make this more specific?” until you can practically hold the goal in your hand.

3. Set a Deadline.

Deadlines are one of life’s great motivators. They’re vital for getting things done. My deadline for reading “War and Peace” is December 31st 2017. Whatever goal you’re working on, make sure it has a deadline.

If you need some additional inspiration, focus on the first four words of deadline: “dead”. Pretend that if you don’t achieve your goal by the deadline, you’ll be shot dead.