Is Demotivation Preventing You from Achieving your Goals?

 You started the year off with a bang. With your SMART objectives aligned with your reach-for-the-stars goals, you looked forward to 2015 with optimism. Your laser-focus and determination to achieve your goals was inspiring. Success and rewards beckoned at your journey’s end.Fast forward five months. It’s May and you are suffering. Achieving your goals is a punishing, bumpy, windy road filled with potholes of failure. The hype and the motivation of the start of the year is a distant memory. Your determination has deserted you.You followed the rules, breaking down large goals into smaller, seemingly more achievable goals. But you still feel overwhelmed.You have dutifully tracked your progress. At the end of the first quarter, you diligently reviewed your goals and objectives to ensure they were still relevant. They were absolutely rock solid relevant.So what’s gone wrong?  You have hit what Seth Godin calls “the Dip”. In his book of the same title he explains, “the Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery.” It is the point at which you believe that it is just too painful, hard and/or costly to continue and you want to quit. Some do quit.We’ve all been there; many times I’m sure. But before you consider quitting, let me tell you the story of my 2015 goals and what I use to help me stay on track.

End of 2014

I could not put it off any longer. I had to make some changes to my business to transform specific aspects from blah to cooking with gas. Here are some of my scary-audacious 2015 goals.

• Completely overhaul my company website. Calling it outdated was too kind.
• Start my blog. Move The HR Rabbit Hole blog from concept in my notebook to web reality.
• Build a social media presence for the Aquarius brand. This meant a new facebook page, Twitter, Google+ to get the ball rolling.

STEP 1: Make a bold and public declaration of your intent.Here is an excerpt from my declaration of intent on my personal facebook page.  As soon as you make a public announcement, it’s game on. Unless you want to be revealed as a phony or a liar, this is your call to action. Heed it! It also allows your supporters pour on the encouragement. This external support is like a sugar rush; but it is not enough. Extrinsic motivation will only get you so far.STEP 2: Create a visual focus and talking point for achieving your goals.For some a storyboard or a huge chart on the wall does the trick.  For me it is The Positivity Jar.Setting some of my business 2015 goals took me outside my comfort zone. Therefore, I knew I needed something special to keep me focussed and motivated to overcome the challenges ahead. With a little customisation, I linked my 2015 goals to “The Positivity Jar Project”. For good measure, I made sure the jar was placed in visible spot.  It stays on my desk, next to my laptop and the framed photo of my family.  Each time I look at the jar my goals pop sharply into focus and I am reminded to fill the jar."Starting NOW, I will fill this empty jar with notes about the good things that happen and great experiences I have shared as I chart a new course. 12 months from today. I will empty it and celebrate the unexpected, that wonderful things did happen and my journey was all the more rewarding for it." STEP 3: It’s quick so stick with itThe great thing about The Positivity Jar is that it is quick and easy to do.  You don’t have to use fancy notes – scraps of paper or post it notes are fine. For it to have meaning, you must commit to adding to the jar every day as soon possible after the positive experience or event.  Stick with it.  It will help balance out the time you spend obsessing about the obstacles and the tough times.  Note that I said balance not cancel. When you are feeling an attack of that energy-sucking demotivation and the wormhole pull of “the Dip”,  tuck into a few of the positivity notes from the jar and have a read.  A dose of positivity and perspective is sometimes all that is needed to push through and get back on track to achieving your goals.“Successful people don’t just ride out the Dip. They don’t just buckle down and survive it.  No, they lean into the Dip. They push harder, changing the roles as they go.”  Seth GodinWhether your goals are personal or professional, it is important find something that helps you to ride out the tough times.What are you using to stay engaged and achieve your scary-audacious goals?If you try The Positivity Jar or your own riff on it, do let me know how it is working for you.