Page 66 - Hard Goals

Heartfelt 57

just want to live longer. Or maybe it’s the vision of your kids,
or your grandkids that you haven’t met yet, that keeps you from
gorging on your particular food weakness. Or maybe someone,
a spouse or parent, offered you $100 for every 10 pounds you
lose as an incentive.
None of these motivators are wrong or right, as long as you
plug in and make them work for you. So before you start think-
ing about all the things you’re going to have to do to bring about
your goal, take some time to answer the question I opened the
chapter with: Why do you care about this goal? Is it something
you just love to do, or are you doing it for someone else, for
something bigger than yourself? Or are you really just after the
payoff? Whatever your answer, if you can build a heartfelt con-
nection to your goal, own that goal, and integrate it into your
life, you’re on your way to HARD Goal achievement.
Goals for which you have a heartfelt attachment add a dimen-
sion of “wanting” to achieve this goal instead of just “needing”
to do it. While necessity is critical, this additional emotional
connection makes a huge difference in how you approach your
goal and the energy you devote to seeing it through. The exact
mix of intrinsic, personal, and/or extrinsic motivators depends
on your unique situation, as long as you assemble enough of
them to build a deep connection. Because if you don’t care about
your goal, what’s going to motivate you to try and achieve it?
And if you don’t care about your goal, how can you expect any-
one whose help you need to make it happen (employees, spouse,
or whoever) to care about it either?
Get more examples and tools at hardgoals.com.