Another title for this post could have been “make the goal your own”. To stay motivated we have to have an internal drive. When we do things because somebody else told us to, or somebody is in essence forcing us to do it, the negative energy that results, though surely “motivating” is not in the least the positive internal energy we need. The drive that’s created when we are self-motivated.

Yes, doing things out of fear, doing things to avoid pain, certainly makes us move to get things done. The problem with that is though, we need constant reminders of the potential pain or negative consequences in order to keep going. Not unlike the whip applied to the horse to keep it running.

When we make a goal of our own, we have our own internal engine. The energy is in front of us, it pulls us forward. It’s almost like a gyroscope on a flywheel that keeps the momentum going even though little energy is applied once they start spinning.

And yes, it is certainly not easy to make a tedious or difficult task one that we can stay motivated around. Yet, it is still possible to have your own goal around these tasks. We can for example set out to learn from the work at hand, or from the environment we find ourselves in during the work. A goal can be much more than just getting it over with.

By making goals our own, we come from a point of creation. We come from a point of simply getting ourselves to do things to a much more enriching experience. By overcoming the negativity, we in effect create neural pathways in our brains, in a positive way, that help us use those same “getting things done” brain signals and pathways that can and are applied to every aspect of productivity. That positivity becomes an internalized positive feedback loop.

Just because we hate shoveling snow, or mowing the lawn, doesn’t mean that that discipline, that brain level discipline of completing the job is not applied to finishing that report that’s due, or planning that family vacation. It is very much so.