What is that saying? For goal setting, it is important to truly know yourself.  Who are you when no one else is looking?  A little consistent self evaluation is critical to your long term success in reaching your goals.

Motivation is the process we use to continue doing something. It can come in the form of rewards, support, self-affirmations or visual aids. With any goals that we set, there has to be a motivating force behind it to spur us on to success. We need a reason for continuing through the difficult times until we reach our goal.

What motivates you? That is the $64,000 question. To begin, learn a bit about yourself by asking who, what, when and how questions.  Here are a few things to help get the juices flowing and aid in figuring out who you really are. From there, you will be able to find your motivation and complete your goals successfully.

Who is the one person in your life that has inspired you the most?  What single characteristic of that person's life stood out to you?  These questions lead you to self examination to see if you see these same qualities in yourself. 

What do you like? That's an easy one. Likes and dislikes come from experiences in life. You may not like public speaking or high places. Look at your list of goals. Are there any goals that require you to do something that you don't like in order to reach them? One example of this would be someone who wants to start a motivational speaking business, but who doesn't like crowds or getting up in front of others. 

Motivation is a mind game. To be more exact, it is a tool of the subconscious mind. Negative thinking brings about negative results. All the motivation in the world can't overcome the power of negative self-talk on the subconscious mind.  Do you think about what you think about?

Are you a negative person? The first step to achieving your goals would be combating the negative thoughts. Simply ignoring them and trying to go on with your goals is self-defeating, because beneath the front we put on for others are our own subconscious thoughts that will win in the end if we let them. You have to kick the negativity not just mask it.  It has been my experience that these negative thoughts will lead to goal sabotaging actions.

Bob Proctor, one of the teachers featured in the video "The Secret," puts it this way, "Thinking creates an image.  Images control feelings.  Feelings cause actions.  Actions create results."  Will your negative thinking lead toward success in reaching your goals?  Most likely, it will not.

Achieving goals is a process that involves finding our motivation. A lack of motivation results in broken promises. The goal can be stopped at any time we become bored, upset, or ridiculed by another. In order to find the source of our motivation, create a list of your attributes. On this list, include:

  • Likes
  • Dislikes
  • Character traits
  • How you would describe yourself
  • Goals you have achieved in the past

All of this information can be combined to determine how motivated you are right now. If you have had goals in the past but never achieved them, look to the character traits and words to describe yourself for insight. Someone with low self esteem will have a tough time getting and staying motivated to do something without a support system.

Once you've found the things that are keeping you from reaching your goals you can start the process of overcoming them. Begin implementing things which can help you get past those drawbacks. For instance, if you need a support system, enlist the help of a friend or mentor to hold you accountable. If you need pep talks to get you through rough times, ask your spouse or close friend to be there for you during those times and lift you up again.

Learning a few things about yourself is the key to finding the motivation to achieve your goals. Without taking a good look in the mirror, goals will be sabotaged from within more than they ever will from other people or circumstances.