Making guaranteed progress toward your goal means not only knowing the “what” and the “how” that drives it, but also knowing the “why” that propels your determination. The FizzUp is breaking down why the “why” and the strategy behind it are critical elements in anything you want to achieve in life.
What drives you to keep working out regularly? To answer this question, you should dig down inside yourself to find the underlying reason that clearly explains why you’re pursuing your goal.
Motivation should be intrinsic. It has come from inside you and not found purely in others. This is the biggest mistake that makes many people give up when they hit their first few pitfalls: they don’t listen to what they themselves truly want to accomplish. Here’s the bottom line: focus on making progress toward your goal without trying to please others. Find the “why” that drives your goals.
No matter what your goal, the first step in reaching it is to figure out what you ultimately want to accomplish. This is your “what.” For instance, you might want to run seven miles in one hour. After that, you need to determine the “how” by creating a plan of action, like doing four endurance workouts a week.
The “what” and the “how” tell you what you need to do to reach your destination. Together, they’re the map that gets you to where you want to go. While these factors revolve around research and planning to reach your goal, the “why” takes a lot more contemplation. Engaging in an introspective thought process will reassure you that you’re going in the right direction and help you stick to a plan that you created for yourself whenever you want to give up.
You can’t stay motivated over the long term and enjoy victory after victory without knowing your “why.” It’s the driving force that lives in all of us and impels us to achieve anything we put our minds to.
You can’t change or take action for anyone but yourself. You also can’t make a change with conviction if your reasons for that change are insignificant. The only way you can change “the right way” is if you thoroughly understand and know the importance of your “why.”
Once you’ve found it, understood it and adapted it to the goals you want to achieve, then you’re set. If you can pinpoint your true “why” in almost any challenging situation, then you can overcome almost any obstacle life brings your way, right?
Everyone possesses the power to live a healthy life. But it can be hard or almost impossible to put your goals first when your head just isn’t in the game or you’re scared of uncertainty. If you don’t keep the driving force of your goals at the forefront of your mind, then other responsibilities and distractions are sure to override them. Take five minutes to think about your goals and about the “why” that drives them, like getting back into exercise or paying close attention to what you eat:
There’s no wrong “why.” You just have to find its meaning. Turn your “why” into one that speaks to you and only you.
Here’s a quick exercise to help you. Choose a goal you want to reach that has to do with physical activity. Next, come up with three “whys” that work for this goal to help you find the source of your self-motivation.
Take this example: you could start a FizzUp workout routine on a whim and then ask yourself three questions that make your decision clearer and reveal what was actually driving you to make that decision to keep your determination up over the long term:
Once you get to the bottom of your “why,” you’ll have reasons for your decisions that are more significant than working out just to work out and seeing a smaller number on your scale. You’ll realize goals like these are likely to change depending on the situation you’re in and how you’re feeling. When you have a clear goal that you are committed to reaching, nothing will stand in your way and you’ll start to make things happen. It’s like wanting to lose weight by running every weekend. If that’s what you really want to do but you’re in the middle of rainy season, you’ll never use the weather as an excuse for not getting outside for your run.
Finding your “why” is a major step toward change because it gets you focused on the journey, knowing that you’re headed in the right direction without ever having to doubt yourself.
You’re bound to get results when you fill your mind with positive thoughts and concentrate on the progress you’ll make thanks to a clear and concrete goal. If you’re ready to make this change and find solutions to all your reasons for not tackling it (like no time or motivation), then remembering your “why” will bring you the answers you need and help you see it through when times get tough.
Starting now, make your action plan (the “how”) to make your goal easier to reach (the “what”) by finding your “why” and the real reason behind your goals. That’s when you’re ready to take the first step on the path to success.
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