Setting goals is one of the cornerstones of the personal professional development process. But not all goals are created equal. Some people are motivated by external rewards such as money, recognition or approval, and others are motivated by the inner need for fulfillment, to grow as a person, or to be aligned with their values. Knowing why you want to achieve a goal on a deeper level can be a real game changer when it comes to your motivation to take steps towards it as well as staying on your path.
This article lets you understand how retrofitting purpose and meaning into your goals can also unleash the power of intrinsic motivation and bring the world of long-term success and satisfaction.
MOTIVATION: INTRINSIC VS EXTRINSIC.
Motivation generally falls into two main categories: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.
- Extrinsic Motivation — when people do things for money, grades, praise. For short goals, external rewards can induce you to work, but they don’t promote the ongoing interest or effort that drives you to follow through on the long haul once the reward is complete.
- Intrinsic Motivation, in contrast, comes from within. It’s motivated by personal gratification, mastery or a sheer love for the activity itself. This form of motivation is usually more sustainable as it is connected to individual values and interests.
Research indicates that intrinsic motivation is more likely to result in sustained interest, creativity, and high levels of achievement. So how do you encourage intrinsic motivation? The most transformative ways is finding purpose and meaning in the goals you pursue.
Recognizing the Need for Purpose
Purpose is a compass, it tells you where to go. When you can explain why the goal is personally important to you, it’s easier to go all in toward achieving it. This is why knowing the reason behind your goals can make all the difference:
- Clarity and Focus: Being well-hydrated enables you to understand why you want to achieve a goal, which can keep you focused when adversity is calling your name. Purpose fills your heart with a sense of meaning that no external reward can maintain in those times when the prize may not be enough to spur you on.
- It is getting in the way of aligning ourselves with the core values: A goal that resonates with your value system is automatically motivating. If your goal is to lead a healthier life and you value your health and well-being, then THIS is a compelling reason why it matters. It’s not you know, about crushing a number on the scale or fitting into a certain size of dress, but rather about how do you want to live your life based on what you believe.
- Pursuing Purpose: Purpose-driven goals are more deeply satisfying when fulfilled. Knowing how or why the goal helps you grow personally or helps someone else have a more fulfilled life will be worth to you more than the usual pay-check or title could it be.
- Resilience in the Face of Challenges: Trials and tribulations are part and parcel of the journey to achieving any goal, but personal significance for the goal you set makes you more likely to keep going through adversity. Your goals have a purpose that can drive you to remind yourself during the hardest times where you set out in the first place.
How to Find Meaning and Purpose In a Goal
It takes time to truly understand the emotional significance of our aspirations. Here are a few ways to dig deeper into your “why”:
- Research what is essential for you: Spend time establishing what values are critical. These might be things such as family, health, personal development, service to others or creativity. How do your goals align with on those values, once you know what matters to you most?
- Ask Yourself “Why?” : For each goal you have, examine why it matters to you. Use the “5 Whys” technique and keep asking why until you get to the root cause. So, if your goal is to get a promotion at work, your first thought could be that you’re doing it for the salary increase. But when you ask why that matters, you may discover that it’s because the promotion is a recognition of your hard work, a way to influence others, an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in your domain.
- Personalize the Impact: What will your goal accomplish in your life, to those around you, and to the world in general? How the action relates to a bigger goal/responsibility can give you more meaning to fulfill it.
- Chunkwozize Up Larger Goals: When you think about a big goal, it may feel overwhelming or far-removed from your everyday life. Steps to Success: Break down your goals into smaller, actionable steps and link them to a personal value or sense of purpose. This will allow to stay motivated and keep focus on the bigger picture.
- Practice the Process: You do not just think about the end result, you also think about the måb. It makes every moment that you have to make a choice, every time you can choose to say something or do something, full of meaning and joy. If the process itself is rewarding, your motivation can stay high even when there are no immediate rewards.
Passion as motivatorHow does it tie to motivationReduce the need for motivation
Passion is also closely tied to purpose, and may serve to buttress intrinsic motivation. When you are more than just ecstatic about something, then the work becomes less of an effort and more of a fulfillment. Passion doesn’t always come naturally, but you can build stronger enthusiasm for your goals by figuring out what excites you about them.
Pick and participate in activities where you have real interest and challenge yourself. Look for work that challenges your creativity, teaches you something, and helps you discover a new part of yourself. When we participate in something that is connected to who we are and what we value, passion is much more likely to arise.
Conclusion
When we know why they are important, the pursuit of goals is so much more fulfilling. When your goals resonate with your individual principles and enthusiasms, you cultivate a profound feeling of intrinsic motivation that fuels perseverance, development, and success. Finding the purpose and meaning behind your goals not only improves your chances of success, but it also leads to more joy in the journey towards the finish line!
So give yourself space to think about the goals you chased, and why they mattered to you in the first place. It’s not simply about where you want to go, but rather why you’d like to go there in the first place as you make the journey toward fulfillment and success.
