Most of us are great at setting goals, but not at
achieving them.
Whether it’s starting a new business, learning a new
language, or mastering an instrument
— we love to start things
without finishing. One of the biggest reasons why we never achieve our goals is
due to a lack of motivation and persistence.
We start out with an abundance of optimism about the
journey, without being fully prepared mentally
for the inevitable obstacles ahead. As Tony Robbins says, “Success in
anything is 80% psychology, and 20% mechanics.”
Let’s uncover the six powerful ways to become more
persistent, so you’ll never quit again.
1.
Have a vision outside of yourself
It all starts with this first step.
Without a bigger vision and purpose that is greater
than yourself, you’ll quit at the initial stages of difficulty, as you will
inevitably be knocked down. In contrast, when you’re achieving something for a
purpose outside of yourself, the pressure of accountability alone will push you
further than a purpose that is self-centered.
For example, if you’re learning a language in order
to have a deeper connection with your life partner, you’re much more likely to
persist because your relationship is on the line.
Or, if you’re trying to lose weight, think about how
confident, joyful, and happy you will feel. But more importantly, think about
how that will affect the loved ones around you.
Shifting from a self-centered goal to a bigger
purpose that affects those you love helps you focus on what you will get out of
it, instead of how hard it is.
2.
Build a support team
As the popular saying goes, “If you want to go fast,
go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The top performers in the world all have a support
team to keep them motivated and persistent, from personal coaches, employees,
assistants, mentors, accountability partners — the list goes on.
More importantly, you should surround yourself with
individuals who have already achieved what you want to achieve. Not only will
this affect your speed of learning, but science has shown that it will impact
your persistency and resiliency when things get difficult. When you have a
clearly-defined purpose, with a state of certainty that you can achieve it, you
influence a system in our body called the reticular activating system (RAS),
that helps our brains decide what information to focus on and what to delete.
In summary, your mind starts to focus your energy on
achieving the goal at hand, instead of unhelpful distractions like doubts and
fears.
3.
Have a growth mindset
In order to achieve our goals, we often have to get
out of our own way.
The author of Mindset, Carol Dweck, spent twenty
years researching how our mindset affects success. The research claims that
individuals have on of two mindsets. Perhaps you possess the growth mindset,
where you thrive on challenges to achieve success. Otherwise, you own a fixed
mindset, where you think you were born with whatever talents you have, and
there’s not much you can do to change them.
Growth-v-Fixed
In other words, we should focus on celebrating small
wins and progress, knowing that we are continuing to improve, rather than
having lofty expectations.
4.
Schedule it
The most successful people in the world, including
billionaire entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, and world-class learners, all use
schedules to prioritize their day.
Why a schedule as opposed to a simple to-do list?
According to a researcher Kevin Kruse, there are a
few key weaknesses of a to-do list:
A to-do list
doesn’t account for time. When we have a long list of tasks, we tend to tackle
those that can be completed quickly in a few minutes, leaving the longer items
left undone. Research from the company iDoneThis indicates that 41% of all
to-do list items are never completed!
It doesn’t
distinguish between urgent and important. Once again, our impulse is to fight
the urgent and ignore the important. (Are you overdue for your next colonoscopy
or mammogram?)
To-do lists
contribute to stress. In what’s known in psychology as the Zeigarnik effect,
unfinished tasks contribute to intrusive, uncontrolled thoughts. It’s no wonder
we feel so overwhelmed in the day, but fight insomnia at night.
Instead, we should focus on scheduling our
priorities, such as reviewing your Spanish common words, practicing the drums,
or writing 500 words for your upcoming book.
What doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done.
5.
Teach Others
Have you ever taught something you learned to
someone, and found it easier to remember in the future?
This is because when we teach something to someone,
our brain is able to register the information more effectively than simply
reading about it.
As research shows, it turns out that people retain:
5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from a lecture.10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading.20% of what they learn from audio-visual.30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration.50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.90% of what they learn when they teach someone else to use the information immediately.
This research finding is especially relevant for
those wanting to master a new skill.
If you want to learn how to become a better speaker,
don’t just watch others do it. You need to immediately use what you’ve learned;
then try to ‘teach’ someone else what you’ve just done.
If you’re learning a new language, instead of using
one-sided interactions like audio tapes or mobile apps, work with a language
teacher or conversation exchange partner to practice what you’re learning.
The key to learning with persistence is to use it
(or lose it).
6.
Have stakes
Why are we less likely to be late to a business
meeting than a meeting with our friends? Because the former could get us fired.
As humans, we’re naturally more motivated to commit when there is a consequence
or a stake, even if it’s a friendly one.
Research shows that we are three times more
influenced by negative consequences than positive consequences, so stakes such
as losing money are powerful incentives to use against yourself.
You can make a friendly bet with a friend to keep
you honest. Or, try using a program like StickK, where you can set a specific
goal with a referee to monitor you, and donate money to a charity as a
consequence for not succeeding.
The key is to get someone involved from your support
team, and share your goals publicly. The social pressure of affecting your
reputation alone will push you further than you can imagine.
Over
to you
What’s a goal or new skill you’re trying to persist
through? Which of these strategies will you use to achieve it?
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