This is all about goals – and is mainly aimed at those who have struggled to set goals – maybe you struggle every year or maybe this year it has been particularly difficult.
I also want to make clear that I this is for you if you are looking at business or personal goals. In these difficult times it might be easier to set personal goals and we may have more control over those.
What is a goal and why should we set goals?
Here are some definitions I found for “goal”:
• An aim or purpose
• the result or achievement toward which effort is directed
• something you aspire to do or wish to do
And there are loads more.
Let’s look at some of the key words in there – purpose. Purpose is something which eluded many of us in the last (nearly) a year. It has been hard for those on long-term furlough – what is the point of getting up in the morning – or whose businesses are almost permanently closed. Motivation has been hard to come by for most of us – at least at some points in the last 10 months – I would challenge anyone to say that every SINGLE day they have bounded out of bed totally “up for it”.
A goal therefore can give you purpose when it may be lacking in areas of your life. And it can be quite a simple thing – for you – we don’t all need to run a marathon, and it has to be achievable (SMART goals later).
Another word I wanted to pick up on was “effort”. You may have been put off by that little word! But if there is no effort involved then your motivation will actually be diminished! And your sense of achievement will be less. What actually drives you – I mean YOU – we are all different!
Let’s look at exercise as an example.Some people love exercise in and of itself – they love running, cycling, whatever it may be. Others may do it grudgingly – because – the reward at the end is what gives them the pleasure. So that might be losing weight – and the exercise is simply something that “has to be done” in order to get there.
You will probably have heard of the “dopamine rush” – especially in relation to runners. That “high” you get from running (I don’t do running either). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter – it’s made in your brain and (apparently) in your kidneys. It’s essentially the “motivation” hormone – and actually it’s the ANTICIPATION of a reward that triggers the production of dopamine! It does other things too (e.g. sexual gratification but that’s not our remit here!) – and a lack of it is involved in Parkinsonism but for our purposes it’s the REWARD that’s the important thing, so the alternative “high” is from the reward you get. And that might be when you share your time on Strava – that might be the “thing” that gives you the buzz.
The point is that there has to be a dopamine surge there somewhere – otherwise we are not going to do it! Something like Strava (other apps are available) can also help to make us accountable as we don’t want the “punishment” of NOT having done our 5K today. Duolingo – the language app – encourages you to keep your “streak” going!And all the apps are built to encourage you – to remind you to get out there, to celebrate when you hit your step count! Who doesn’t love the Fitbit fireworks haptic buzz when you reach target!!
So – get to know yourself. Are you someone that loves doing the thing for the things sake or do you need an end goal? People who have goals are far more likely to succeed. And people who write them down and then share them are even MORE likely to succeed!
Think about what you want to achieve – in life or in business – and write down some goals.It might be reading more, exercising more, losing weight, getting more customers. But remember they have to be SMART
Specific – not “lose weight” but lose 10 pounds
Measurable – something you can actually measure like weight or number of customer
Achievable – don’t say you are going to get 100 more customers or run 200 marathons!
Relevant – got to be meaningful for YOU – to your life or business
Time dependent – WHEN are you going to reach the goal – otherwise it’s just a wish
Think of the reward when you finish (BIG dopamine rush)
But it is important to recognise that you should break it down into mini goals – losing 1 lb a week, gaining 2 customers a month, whatever. Work out what will give YOU a dopamine rush – the running or the check-in (or cake!) at the end? Also remember that dopamine can be annoying stuff – it is designed so that you need more and more of the stuff to get the same rush! (that’s a whole other topic!)
I’d love to know what gives you your dopamine fix!?