Last year, I wrote a post explaining why I do not make New Year’s resolutions. I don’t believe we should rely on a calendar to tell us it’s time to make a change. We should make a change, when it’s time to make a change.
Yet, most do not. In fact, according to research, 92 percent of people do not achieve their goals.
I’m not an expert in psychology, but I do understand human nature. It’s my pet project, of sorts. I have learned something from studying humans that can be summed up in three words: motivation is key.
We must be motivated to take action, especially to make a change. Setting a goal sounds great, in theory, but I’ve seen too many people wait until they were forced to change before doing it. Why? Based on what I understand – from myself and others – humans are complicated beasts with two nagging hold-ups that hinder us from meeting our goals.
We are creatures of habit. Habits are extremely hard to change. They are engrained in us as if we’re programmed on auto-pilot. To truly change, we have to commit to change and then we have to actually change our habits. It’s not easy. This is where motivation comes in. To commit to something, we must want to do it.
Change is scary. Fear is more powerful than reward. We fear the unknown, which makes it hard to change. We can’t see the outcome yet. We are also plagued by self-doubt. Our internal voices are telling us we can’t do it or that we will fail. To rise above that fear and doubt, I’ve found motivation can be a great ally. It can help us squash both simply because we can visualize our path.
I can’t tell you how to set a goal and achieve it. I can only speak for myself when I say that if I am motivated, I am unstoppable.
“The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.” -Theodore Roosevelt
