As Bill Copeland, an American writer puts it, "If you don't have a goal in life, you are spending your life running around and not achieving anything for yourself." Short term or long term, having a goal is very important and sometimes imperative. However, having a goal is only half the battle won as staying motivated through the process and finally achieving it is the most difficult part. 

Here is a trick my friend and her husband use every time they plan to achieve a goal, say learn a skill, study a language or lose weight. They make it public. They tell the world about it, put it all over social media. This way even if they lose motivation in between, they will have people asking about it. And the fear of giving up and becoming a reason for people to laugh at keeps them going. 

You can try this technique too. Whenever you decide to take up something, say a swimming course, go ahead and make it public . This way you will think twice before quitting. After all, nobody wants to feel humiliated. Dr. Sanjay Chugh, senior consultant psychiatrist, says, "The human system needs some amount of motivation to perform any action. For instance, when we are hungry, the mind generates the goal of food and we get motivated to procure food and eat it. So, when the mind has a goal or target, it drives us to act towards it." 

You will have a have higher success rate when you have outside support or motivation, when you are answerable to people. Announcing your goals to the world creates accountability, which is essential for success. Also, some good Samaritans will help you stay motivated. A research from Dominican University of California showed that those who told friends or family about their goals did better than those who didn't, and people who e-mailed their support team weekly progress updates did best of all. 

Various studies on New Year resolutions suggest how only few people achieve their goals. A recent study suggests that only 8% of people who make resolutions succeed in keeping them. 75% of resolutions are continued through the entire first week of January, but only about 46% make it past six months. So, it is natural to give up. That is when you should try such tricks, backed by experiences of various people and scientific studies. 

Share This Post