I N S I G H T S

Have you ever wondered why some people regularly achieve their goals and some appear never to quite reach theirs?  There are numerous factors involved and many different ways of dealing with them.  While some are broadly applicable, there are parts to goal achievement that need to be tailor-made to be most effective.

For instance, as a simple example that includes a few helpful goal setting and achieving ideas, let’s look at two women who one day made the decision to lose weight – say ten kilos.  They both felt highly motivated to achieve their goal and began a sensible planned diet and exercise programme.  Now let’s look at them six months down the track.  One woman had reached her target weight but the other was still somewhere close to where she started.  So what happened?  If both women started out with the same intention and planned how to reach their goal intelligently, why did the results differ?  Well, in this instance, it could simply be down to how clearly they defined their desired outcome, their personal motivation strategy and the use of their imagination.

Let’s consider the first woman. She set her goal of losing ten kilos and gave herself good reasons why she wanted to achieve that by clearly envisaging how that would be for her. In her mind she created a future self where she was ten kilos lighter.  She consistently imagined how she would look, how she would feel and what she would do.  Perhaps she could even imagine the congratulations and admiring words of her friends and family.  As she mentally and emotionally connected to her ten kilos lighter future self, she provided herself with strong conscious and unconscious motivation to reach her goal.

The second woman also stated she wanted to lose ten kilos.  While she didn’t hold a clear and detailed vision of her future self – ten kilos lighter and enjoying the benefits that brought, she did feel unhappy with her current weight, shape, health or fitness and really wanted to change.   So one day, probably not too long after she started her diet and exercise programme, she noticed that her clothes fit a little better or perhaps her heart didn’t race quite so much when she exercised.  The point being, as soon as she made even the smallest move away from her current situation, she’d made a change and her goal was met.  Motivation expired. Game over.

So although both women stated a goal of losing ten kilos, they didn’t actually have the same goal in mind. They utilised a different motivation strategy and only the first woman harnessed the power of her imagination.   

We all tend to favour a specific motivation strategy; either we move towards something or we move away from something.  Towards motivation strategies are generally seen to be more effective in attaining goals however both strategies have their place, depending on the circumstances. 

 So let’s take a look at these women again.  The first woman utilised a towards motivation strategy as she defined her goal very clearly as a future condition she wanted to achieve. Towards people are often seen as forward thinking, goal oriented with great drive and energy so she was off to a great start. She also gave herself the leverage she needed to stay motivated to diet and exercise by maintaining, in her mind, a clear vision of herself at her goal weight with all the benefits that entailed.  Using her imagination in this way greatly increased her chance of success because not only did it make her goal compelling on a conscious level, to her unconscious mind it became a done deal.  That meant that all the unconscious habits and behaviours that supported her previous lifestyle, that led to her being ten kilos overweight, were reprogrammed to support her new reality, even though it was yet to occur.

The second woman utilised an away-from strategy.  People who use this strategy tend to avoid change until a situation becomes unbearable to them.  They then focus on moving away from the situation as opposed to moving toward a particular outcome.  People with away-from tendencies will generally avoid risks and can be overly cautious, a very useful skill when there is a requirement to assess risk situations, however because their choices are based on avoidance, rather than a desire for something new, aiming for a future goal can be a little more challenging.

How then, could our second woman improve her chances of reaching her intended goal if she firmly utilised an away-from strategy?  Well, unlike the first woman’s strategy of setting a future target, keeping it in mind and envisaging herself already there, the second woman’s strongest motivation to diet and exercise would come from her finding her current situation so intolerable she would feel driven to escape it.  Again, imagination plays an important role and it may help to accentuate the negatives.  For example she could envisage a future of serious ill-health, unable to play with her children, missing out on events, or anything else that would create a potent image with all the incumbent feelings, sights and sounds of an unacceptable reality.  She would then create a new reality by envisaging herself as ten kilos lighter and not having any of those issues or problems.  Her outcome of being ten kilos lighter is therefore linked to a new desired state; a state she would achieve by moving away from her current situation.

So these are just some of the ways you can help empower yourself to reach your goals.  Be clear about your desired outcome and keep it in mind.  Understand and play to your personal motivation strategy.  Are you a person primarily motivated by having, being or doing something or are you primarily motivated by not having, not being or not doing something?  Plan your strategy accordingly and remember to keep your imagination in play.  It is perhaps a far more powerful tool than you realised.

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