Chapter 3: Identify Your Outcomes
Short-term motivation relies on looking at the big picture.
Even though something like a short motivational video or quote can help get you pumped- you still need to know what you’re getting pumped for, right?
In that last section, I was talking about trying to make $1,000 by the end of the month.
To keep it simple, we’ll say that you have 2 main outcomes for this scenario:
Outcome 1: I achieve my goal, pay the rent, and get another month to find a job, build up a side business, or whatever else is needed to pay the rent.
Outcome 2: I don’t achieve my goal and get kicked out onto the streets with all of my stuff.
Now- that’s a very simplistic way of looking at it, but it proves my point.
To really stay motivated, you’ve got to look at what happens due to your actions.
Will eating that fast food every day help you get lean and mean, or make you gain weight?
Can arguing with your spouse about the little things all the time really strengthen your marriage, or is it making everything worse?
Will watching TV or playing video games instead of working on your business really help you achieve your goals?
You have a reason- a “Why” for the goals that you set.
That “Why” is probably the positive outcomes that can come from achieving the goals you set.
Maybe it’s letting you spend more time with your kids.
It could be to be healthier, have less pain and live longer to spend time with family or travel.
Maybe it’s so you have financial freedom to sit at home all day and watch soap operas.
I dunno.
But whatever it is, that’s only HALF of the equation. What Happens if You DON’T Reach Your Goals?
Most people only talk about the good outcomes that can happen when you reach your goals.
You can buy X, or pay off Y loan, or you can work for yourself, or whatever.
But there’s the other side of the coin.
If you don’t put in the time and effort to reach the goals you set- what happens?
You might lose your job You can lose the house
Your spouse can leave you You could get terminally ill Your kids won’t like you
Your friends might stop calling
Whatever the possible outcomes are- you have to identify them.
Both the positive AND negative sides.
Now- I’m not telling you to throw in EVERY single possible outcome.
Because you never really know what’s going to happen, despite what some people say about controlling their lives.
But at the same time- you can give a really good guess, right?
If your goal is to lose 10 pounds and you only lose 5- well, that means you’ll still feel bad for yourself, have poor self- esteem and confidence, and more.
But if you do lose the full 10 pounds, you’ll feel better about yourself, look better, possibly attract more of the opposite gender, have better confidence, and more.
Do you see my point here?
You see, motivation isn’t JUST about the warm-and-fuzzy feelings that most people tend to associate it with.
You’ve probably heard that you can motivate people with carrots (time off work, bonuses, food, etc.) versus sticks (getting fired, going to timeout, etc.)
This is the exact same thing.
The only difference is you’re motivating yourself.
But the cool thing is that you don’t have to choose one or the other to focus on.
In fact, I recommend that you keep both in mind. That way you can be motivated by both the carrot AND the stick.
How do you do this? Simple.
For each goal, make a table underneath it. This table lists the positive outcomes on the left side, and negative on the right.
So it might look like this:
Goal: I will lose 10 pounds this month by eating 1,200 calories a day, getting 7 hours of sleep every night and
walking 30
Positive Outcomes
I’ll have more confidence and self- esteem I’ll take pressure off my aching knees
I’ll probably live longer
I’ll have a lot more energy minutes a day.” Negative Outcomes I’ll feel like I failed
My knees will continue to get worse and more painful I’ll probably die earlier
I’ll keep feeling too sluggish to do anything
That’s all you really have to do.
That way, when you review your goals, you can also review the outcomes which came from why you want to achieve those goals.
Got it?
Now let’s talk about the last important element- being social!
Get Social
Human beings, as much as we may act like it sometimes, are NOT good at doing things on our own.
Sure, there are plenty of things we can do as individuals.
But as a whole? We’re 10x more effective working together as a group than individually.
Just a quick example, think of your breakfast.
Let’s say it’s usually pretty simple- a bowl of cereal with milk and an orange with some multivitamins.
Think of EVERYTHING that food went through just to get to you.
The cereal was probably corn or wheat grown by a farmer
Corn/wheat gets ground up and shipped to the cereal factory
By combining the wheat with lots of other stuff, and some processing, you get the cereal
Now it gets shipped to a distribution center, then to a grocery store
You drive to the store in a car you didn’t make, and buy the cereal with paper money or a credit card (again, which you didn’t physically create)
You drive back home using gas that was refined by a company
You pour the cereal and milk (from a different farm) into a bowl (made in China) and eat it with a spoon (made on the other side of the country) And that’s JUST your cereal.
Never mind the dozens of other things you eat or use on a daily basis. Humans work much better when we do it as a team.
Working together, we can share knowledge, tips & tricks, and experience in limitless areas- health, wealth, engineering, law- EVERYTHING.
This works for achieving your goals too.
If you keep your goals private, and never let anyone know about them... Nobody can help you.
Nobody can motivate you.
Nobody can celebrate your victories with you.
But if you share them with your family, friends, coworkers or a mastermind group...
It’s an entirely different ballgame.
When you’re feeling tired and don’t want to run anymore- your running buddy will help motivate you to keep going.
When it seems like your marriage just can’t get any worse- that neighbor who’s been married for 50 years can help put you on the right track.
When your sales numbers are struggling, having that A-type personality buddy who can sell ice to an Eskimo can motivate you and help you out.
STOP trying to do everything on your own.
It doesn’t work.
Build a team, and let them help you accomplish your goals.
They’ll motivate you when you’re tired and struggling.
They’ll give you the knowledge you need to overcome tough obstacles.
They might even make sacrifices to help you, such as lending you their workout equipment, books or editing your reports and presentations.
Why Do People Like Facebook and YouTube? Think about it- why do people LOVE these sites?
Facebook is great for a few reasons, but one of the big ones is the “Like” feature.
When you put up some kind of comment or picture, and people “Like” it, doesn’t that make you feel good?
It motivates you.
The same goes for YouTube. When some people start “follow-me” type channels for weight loss, business etc., the people who subscribe and pay attention help motivate that person.
When people are watching, you try harder.
When I was a kid, I always tried harder at karate or basketball when my parents were there.
As a teenager and college kid, my sports were always turned up a notch if girls were watching.
When you’re at work, you probably try harder when your coworkers or boss is asking you for something, or watching you, right?
Of course you do.
But more than that-
People keep you accountable.
They don’t just motivate you, or help you when you’re struggling.
They also make sure you’re making forward progress towards your goals. People who truly care for you will push and challenge you.
When you stop showing up for workouts, they’ll ask.
When you start coming in to work late- they’ll get on you about it.
When you revert back to treating your family poorly- an accountability partner will call you out.
That’s why you need to be social.
But even more than that- you need an accountability partner.
When done right, accountability partners are just fantastic. They’re better than just making your goals public because they will specifically seek you out to make sure you’re chasing your goals.
Most people will look at you chase your goals and just cheer you on. Some might call you out if you stop trying as hard, but most won’t.
Trust me.
They have enough other stuff to worry about.
Plus most people don’t want to “stir the pot.” They’re afraid that if they call you out, you won’t be friends with them anymore.
On the other hand- an accountability partner knows that’s their job. So what’s the best way to use an accountability partner? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Don’t Let Family be Accountability Partners
If it’s a distant cousin or something, that might be okay. But spouses, kids, parents and siblings are off limits.
Why? Because you’re going to get REALLY frustrated with your accountability partner at times.
That is, if they’re good. Why?
Because when you stop trying as hard, they’ll tell you. When you aren’t doing what you’re supposed to, your accountability will nag you about it. Constantly.
That’s their job, right? They keep bugging you and giving you a hard time because you asked them to.
But if it’s a family member doing this- you can take it personally.
You might get mad at the person, not what they’re saying to you.
Instead, it’s better to have a friend, neighbor or coworker who you aren’t extremely close to do this.
Sure, you might get frustrated with them.
But at least you aren’t getting very frustrated with your best friend, or spouse for nagging you all the time.
Make it Daily
Another thing to keep in mind is to talk to your accountability partner daily.
I’ve tried other timeframes, like once a week or every other day.
They didn’t work very well for me or the other person.
The main reason is that it just isn’t enough. You need to work on your goals daily, right? Not just when you feel like it.
If you talk to your partner every single day, they make sure that happens.
Because think about what happens if you only talk once a week, say on Fridays.
The first Friday you talk, everything is great- you’re moving right along.
But that weekend you slack off a bit, and by Monday or Tuesday
it’s hard to get back into the swing of things.
By the time next Friday rolls around, you’re not working on your goals at all. And since your accountability partner didn’t know, it will now be difficult for them to motivate you.
Instead, talk to them daily. This lets them motivate you on a daily basis, and help pick you up when you fall down.
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