Page 121 - Hard Goals

112 HARD Goals

and he was going to have to devote more weekday hours to the
job. All this meant less time at home with his wife and three-
year-old son, and pretty much no time (at least for a while) to
devote to fun things like friends and hobbies.
It’s not that Carl doesn’t want the future payoff of his
intended goal. He and his wife have been talking about having
a second child, and the pay raise that comes with the promo-
tion will make it a lot easier to do. In fact, growing his family
is Carl’s primary heartfelt motivator behind his goal. But even
so, he feels a certain level of dread about the coming months, of
all he is going to have to give up. And he feels anxious that he
might not have what it takes to pull it off.
To help stay motivated and on track for his HARD Goal,
Carl took a hard look at the future benefi ts he stood to gain to
see what he might be able to move into the present. While he
and his wife made a fi rm resolve of “no new baby until there
is more money,” they could still stir up some excitement about
growing their family. Obviously, practicing for that day is a
benefi t most of us can appreciate. Carl also decided to start
the nursery room as a way of bringing into the present some of
the future benefi ts. “Just working on the room reminds me of
why I am pushing myself so hard right now,” Carl says. “As my
wife and I paint and paper, we feel excited about the prospect
of having a baby. We might not be able to do it today, but we’re
keeping the excitement alive, and that really helps me get up
every day and do what I have to do.”

Trick 3: Make Your Benefits Sound Better
One of the mental incongruities people often have is to view
costs in very concrete terms and benefi ts in very abstract terms
(this concept was introduced back in the “Animated” chapter).