THE WHY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE HOW

Executives and CEO's in Westchester NY ask what is so special about having goals. First of all, it is important to write your goals down. You have a much greater chance of achieving them if they are written down in front of you. That makes sense if you compare it to grocery shopping. If you don’t follow your list you will buy what you don’t need and forget what you need. But you have written your goals down and have them in front of you. So why aren’t you achieving your goals? “WHY” is indeed the operating question.

Why do want to achieve the goal in the first place? Frankly, if you do not have the WHY the HOW will not matter. Motivation and goal achievement are interrelated. Notice that I did not say goal setting but rather achievement. You can’t motivate yourself or motivate others. You need instead to reach down and find that motivation and bring it to the surface.

Make sure the goal you set is yours. If you are not sure what you want then start by doing a dream inventory. List every dream you have. Make the list exhaustive. Keep going until you have 50. Then rank them most important to least important. Why did you rank them that way? Are the ones ranked up top the ones that you absolutely can’t live without? How badly do you want these and why? Is a burning need to and are you emotionally attached to that goal or is it something that would just be nice to have.

Many people want something but then their subconscious says, “yeah right that will never happen.” So, they reason, “I will try but I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment if I fail.”   But wait, what are the consequences if you fail? They could be major.

Your desire for gain is only one side of the goal achievement process. Think about a time when you did something to avoid a loss. The threat of loss is, many times, a more powerful motivator than the opportunity for gain. If you have a strong need and want for achievement of your goal AND failure is not an option you are motivated to achieve.   So find your need and want and follow your dream and you know WHY.

HOW... consider all possible obstacles and for every obstacle consider all possible solutions. What is the greatest obstacle, that is, what obstacle if eliminated would greatly facilitate the achievement of your goal. Then set up an action plan to remove the obstacle and achieve.

This is not going to be easy. I am not suggesting that it is. It will require changing habits and they are never easy to change. A habit keeps us in a comfort zone. We must have a greater reward, the emotional need and want, to establish a new habit. That reward will help us to replace the old habit with a new one which will yield a new and greater reward. If you have that burning want and need, that will propel you toward achievement of your goals.

Let us help you find your WHY and achieve your goals.  

Free Consultation.