Проверьте вашу мотивацию движения к цели

Continuing the conversation about the technology of achieving results.

Here we talked about how to properly formulate a goal. Here – how to check yourself, whether you are really ready to go to the result.

Image source created by artificial intelligence <br>

Today we will delve deeper into the topic of motivation.

I will ask you, perhaps, a difficult question: what percentage of your goals do you achieve? According to foreign studies, for example, Stanford University, only 8% of people achieve the desired result, 24% abandon the goal after one month of moving towards it, 60% do it after six months. Russian data is more optimistic. For example, according to the Russian School of Management, 32% of people achieve their goals.

It is not enough to set a goal correctly, you need to be ready to go the way to the goal. And in this way, do not drop out.

Motivation will help you go the way. Motivation needs to be able to be checked when setting a goal and, if it has weakened or been lost during the movement towards the result, be able to return it.

In this article, we will go into the topic of diagnosing motivation when setting a goal. Motivation is energy. It is born from the difference between an unsatisfactory situation in the present and a desired picture in the future. When we really want something, in the deep structures of the brain, located under the neocortex (namely, in the basal ganglia departments), the neurotransmitter dopamine is released. So called dopamine rushes are visible to the naked eye. This is when a person's eyes light up, energy levels increase, gestures appear or are activated, facial expressions, posture, intonation change. I must say that not everyone has such a bright manifestation of motivation)))

In the article about setting goals, I gave you strong questions that you must ask yourself when formulating a goal. All these questions can be combined into one capacious one, which sounds like "Why do you need this result?"

Let's look at the mechanism of motivation from the point of view of modern neurophysiology. So, a person has dissatisfaction with the current situation and a thought about changing this situation. There is a conscious or unconscious idea of the desired result. There are a huge number of unconscious desires that we satisfy every day. You are unlikely to set yourself the goal of drinking water according to the goal-setting algorithm))) The brain monitors your physical condition, records thirst and the need for water, and you, without realizing it, reach for a glass.

I am not accidentally describing this seemingly banal situation. The fact is that the mechanism for achieving a conscious or unconscious result is the same. It is based on the presence of a need for something. If there is a need behind the idea of a better future, motivation will appear. In the case of quenching thirst, the need to drink exists in reality. And if you were inspired by the example of another person, or you hear about a successful career and achievements from all the irons, or you were given a work task from above? It is not a fact that you have a need for what you have heard.

What to do?

Check if you personally have a need to implement the idea.

The presence of a need is the basis for motivation.

I foresee your questions: how to check the presence of a need and what is it, what does it look like?

Take your current goal. I hope you have already checked it for the quality of the wording. And you will check the presence of a need on it. So it will be clearer.

A need is a necessity for something in order to live on and develop. Needs are different – biological, social, spiritual. Biological are aimed at ensuring life, safety and procreation: sleep, food, water, breathing, self-preservation, relationships with representatives of the opposite sex. Social needs are due to our inclusion in society and relationships with each other. For example, recognition, self-realization, belonging to some group, communication. Examples of spiritual needs are development, creativity, self-identity, self-esteem. It may be that there is not one, but several needs behind some desire. This is normal. We are holistic, everything in the personality is connected to everything)))

Look at your goal and ask yourself: what need is behind your desire to reach this result? You can name the need in your own words. It doesn't matter how it sounds, the main thing is that it is clear to you. If you found it, great! You have set a goal very consciously. Listen to yourself. How do you feel about your find?

If you have not found a need, there are 2 options for further actions. The first is to understand that this is not your goal. It may turn out to be socially approved. For example, everyone around says how cool it is to know a foreign language, that it is necessary for a career, greater competitiveness in the market, access to world knowledge, prevention of Alzheimer's disease, etc. And you have been tormenting him for years, but there is no sense. Why do you personally need to know a foreign language? What your need do you want to satisfy? If there is no urgent need, you will continue to suffer and scold yourself for the lack of results. So, maybe it's time to finally realize that you don't need it and direct energy and resources to where it will help you achieve what you really need?

The second way is situations when you can't part with the goal. For example, a work task. It needs to be done, this is your functionality. So, find in this task a need that will be realized. This is the meaning of employee motivation and the task of the manager in this process – to connect the personality and work tasks, to help the employee find which of his needs he can close by performing the task. Maybe he will master a new skill, take a step towards promotion in his career, establish communication between departments, create an innovative product?

I hope you managed to check the motivation in your current goals.

In the next publication, we will analyze what to do if motivation is lost along the way.