Motivation Series, Part 4.  Check out part 1, part 2 & part 3.

Motivation and enthusiasm are two ends of the same stick. While it’s great to be enthusiastic about your goals, enthusiasm alone will never supply enough power to keep your motivation at full throttle. Enthusiasm, as it turns out, is the fuel that powers your acceleration, creates drive, and generates momentum; but when your fuel runs out, the engine stops.

Supply and Demand

Enthusiasm—like a tank of gas—lasts about a week, maybe two. It’s basic supply and demand; if you want to reach your goal (your destination), you’re going to need to refuel periodically to keep yourself in high gear. Don’t know how? Read on.

Here’s a list of goals common to so many people—maybe even you. These are examples where people have tried to accomplish a difficult goal and they start out with their engines revving in high gear and two weeks later, all progress has come to a stop.

• Quitting smoking
• Losing weight
• Getting exercise
• Eating healthy
• Changing careers
• Starting a business
• Dropping a bad habit
• Ending procrastination
• Establishing a good habit
• Trying to be a better:
• ………Husband/dad
• ………Wife/mom
• ………Brother/sister
• ………Friend
• ………Employee
• ………Neighbor
• ………Civic leader
• ………[Fill in the blank]

What’s Holding You Back?

So what’s holding you back? I believe it comes down to two things: 1) lack of an effective plan, and 2) an inadequate supply of fuel (enthusiasm). I could have also included lack of desire, but I think if you care enough to even set a goal in the first place, I believe you sincerely do want to achieve your goal.

Planning for Success

There is no magical pill for this step. In fact, there’s a very good chance your plan won’t be perfect the first time around. You will likely need to make adjustments and try again until your effort is supported by your plan. When planning on how you’re going to achieve your goal, consider these tips:

Power Planning Tips

• Don’t reinvent the wheel: Find a plan that has worked for someone else and try it.
• Be realistic: Deep down inside, if you know that a plan isn’t right for you, keep looking.
• Be safe: While some risk is healthy and reasonable, there’s no logical reason to take unhealthy or unreasonable risks to achieve any goal. If your plan requires this, reexamine why you’ve set the goal in the first place. Safety first, always!
• Write it down: Keep a journal and write in it daily (for short-term goals) or weekly (for long-term goals). Record your progress, thoughts, and obstacles—and be sure to write down how you’ll overcome each obstacle if you encounter it again.
• Prioritize: If a goal is meaningful enough for you to pursue it, make it your number-one priority.
• Recruit: Enlist the help of trusted friends and family.
• Reflect and reaffirm: At the end of the day, take a moment to reflect on how your day went and reaffirm, with conviction, your desire to accomplish your goal.
• Wake-up call: In the morning when you wake up, sit on the edge of your bed (with good posture) and decide how successful your day will be, relative to your goal—and mean it!
• Be persistent: No matter how yesterday went, to achieve your goal, you have to restart your engine every day. If you mess up one day, don’t make it a deal-breaker; start again the next day or the next moment.
• Plan ahead: Consider the temptations and distractions that you’re likely to encounter in your normal daily routine and predetermine how you will handle or reroute them, then follow the plan.
• Be obsessive: That’s right! Be obsessive about reaching your goal. Plow through obstacles like you didn’t even notice them. Don’t listen to nay-sayers or unsupportive people. Act as if your life depends on achieving your goal, put yourself in high gear, and don’t look back! (But don’t hurt anyone!)

High-Octane Enthusiasm

If enthusiasm is the fuel that keeps you going, where can you find more when you’re getting low? Enthusiasm is a precious commodity and often seems in short supply. Part of the challenge is that we rely on outer conditions for our supply when, inside each one of us, we all have our very own enthusiasm refinery. It’s up to us to become familiar with the machine; to understand how it operates and how to turn it on with the flip of a switch.

Create an Unlimited Supply of Enthusiasm!

Problem: You need enthusiasm but you so rarely use it that you don’t remember how to turn it on.

Solution: Try these strategies to get your enthusiasm machine up and running smoothly once again while producing massive quantities of enthusiasm.

• All about you: Enthusiasm comes from you, no matter what external event you think has triggered it. It’s your thoughts, ultimately, that turn on your enthusiasm-generating power.
• In the Zone: Avoid spending too much time around people, or in environments that sap your energy or drag you down.
• Build it up: Practice cultivating enthusiasm on a regular basis so when you need to instantly turn it on, your engine will immediately launch you into high gear.
• Observe: In the moments when you find yourself filled with enthusiasm, ask yourself, “What am I thinking now?”
• List it: When you discover quotes, music, books, people, videos, speeches, activities, pictures, or anything that inspires you and elevates your mood, make a list or start a file; fill it with known power-ups.
• Follow success: Read about successful people for inspiration—especially people who have accomplished the same goal you’re striving to achieve. How did they do it? Learn from them!
• Be Happy: Don’t dwell on thoughts that diminish your enthusiasm or lower your self-esteem. Replace them with power-ups; feed your mind with the most expansive and empowering thoughts that you are capable of thinking.
• Act out: Studies show that when you act enthusiastically (even when only pretending), you generate the real thing. Play with this and you’ll see just how powerful it can be!
• Participate: Don’t just think about enthusiasm, think from enthusiasm!
• Create: Pick out a song or other item of inspiration and listen to it, watch it, read it, etc. while you reaffirm, with conviction, that you are excited and enthusiastic about achieving [state your goal] while, at the same time, acting and feeling enthusiastic.
• Be True: When acting or attempting to generate enthusiasm, you must be honest about your determination and desire to accomplish your goal. In this way, you honor yourself and aspire to greatness.

The Power of Enthusiasm is Yours to Command

All of the strategies listed here are skills that require frequent practice. If you practice and learn how to apply these tips and strategies, you’ll be able to turn on your enthusiasm like starting the engine of a car. When these become second-nature, you will have a very rare and priceless ability that will respond instantly to your command. Master these skills and you will have mastered enthusiasm…and your life!

Related Posts

1. Motivation and You: Make Your Life Awesome!
2. Nine Tips for Setting and Achieving Your Goals
3. Accountability – A Secret Key to Motivation and Goal Achievement
4. Do You Overlook Small Details that Impact Motivation and Success?