Our brains only ever have 2 motivations for doing something, and those are: 1) Avoidance of Pain and 2) Pursuit of Pleasure, and in that order of precedence. That simple fact is the key for establishing and achieving goals.
Just as a car moves in a forward direction to get to a destination, so we should in setting goals. Last year when I was working on my MBA certificate while running a busy and flourish business I didn’t focus on the pain of all that things I had to accomplish every day from March through October, I focused on the prize, graduating and all the ways that the education would help the business. My next goal is to complete 2 business plans, again envisioning those new companies and what they will allow my inner philanthropist to help many.
Though I know the goal is pleasurable I also know it involves effort, perhaps even some pain. But we get our choice of pain; the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. And instead of assigning the meaning of pain, I am going to call the pursuit a challenge because challenges are fun!
The Marriott advertising to “Get There” really spells it out. Climb that mountain to see that view.
