3 KEYS TO GUARANTEED RESULTS IN LIFE (i.e., staying motivated)
MOTIVATION
The simple truth of the matter is that if we don’t stay motivated we won’t get results…in life.
There’s really no other key to achieving results and/or success – stay motivated and you will do/achieve anything.
But, as most of us already know, staying motivated is the tricky part!
And, though I’ve shared tricks and tips to staying motivated before, I’ve never really shared The 3 Keys to staying motivated.
So, without further adieu, The 3 Keys To Guaranteed Results (i.e., staying motivated)
KEY 1 | AUTONOMY
There is nothing like the feeling of being able to do something for ourselves…and this is something we all eventually start taking for granted.
Think about it for a minute. How awesome did you feel the first time you learned to ride a bike, tie your shoes, catch a pop fly, drive a car, etc.? Pretty awesome right…assuming you remember anyways…but that’s the point – we forget how great it feels to learn to do things for ourselves.
The sad truth is that most of us forget how rewarding it feels to finally achieve something for ourselves. We become almost immune to the feeling of success…or worse, some of us might just stay stagnant…never learning new things…never improving…and constantly losing motivation to learn or do anything new.
BUT THAT’S NOT US!
Not only is it because it’s human nature but because it’s THE AMERICAN WAY! If there’s one thing we American’s hate is a hand-me-out!
“If I can’t do it for myself I don’t want your help!” – Any good ol’ ‘merican!
But seriously, we stay motivated because we like to do things for ourselves (it’s human nature really). Just think about how important it is to us as a people to be able to do something for ourselves – so much so we believe that if we want it done right, we need to do it ourselves!
The point here is that if we can do something ourselves then we are more likely to do that something, especially if that something is something we like to do and even more if that something is something we would like to one day master.
KEY 2 | MASTERY
The second key to staying motivated is MASTERY – our intrinsic interest to want to master something we like and/or the things we are pretty good at.
But there’s a little more to this key then meets the eye. Mastery can be a tricky thing.
The desire to master something you like can lead you straight to failure…and that can be either a good thing or a very, very, very bad thing.
For example, say you love music so much you decide to one day learn how to play the guitar. So you go out, buy your first guitar, go home with your new how-to book, and go at it.
Well, it won’t be long before you realize one of two things…and what you do from that point on IS CRUCIAL to your results, so PAY ATTENTION…
Scenario Numero Uno:
You discover playing music comes pretty natural to you. So you continue to play until one day you finally master the guitar (or at lease get really good at it…I mean mastering the guitar is a pretty tall order…so lets just assume you just wanted to be really good at it…or just good at it…you get the point).
Scenario Numer Dos:
You discover that playing the guitar is really really hard!
This exact moment is THE CROSSROAD to the rest of your guitar playing life.
You have only two paths at this point and which path you decide to take WILL DEFINE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE from this moment forward.
Once you realize that the thing you are trying to master is pretty hard you can either;
- Decide to quit or
- Decide to stick with it and keep practicing!
These two scenarios pretty much sum up life.
Our lives are the results of the decisions we make – we either give up or keep trying.
If we decide to give up we all know that will be the end of the road.
But if we jus keep trying, if we just keep pushing for improvements, if we just keep practicing WE WILL GET BETTER because, in the immortal words of Mrs. Meg (my wise Pre-K teacher), “PRACTICE MAKES BETTER” and if we just keep practicing it might one day make perfect…and when this happens – POOF! MASTERY IS YOURS!
KEY 3 | PURPOSE
Okay, so lets say you care nothing about doing stuff for yourself (lets just assume you take completely no satisfaction in the slightest actions of self-doing…not even bathing…hell, if we were all bathed like Eddie was in Coming To America I think none of us would bathe ourselves) or you care nothing about mastering anything, what then?
Well my friend, you better have the key to number 3 at arm’s length because if you don’t you’ll never find the other two keys and you’ll be pretty much locked out…of life!
The third key to staying motivated (and getting results) is PURPOSE.
“Purpose is crucial for completing practically any task! So it’s a no-brainer,” you might be thinking.
Yeah, I know, but I am talking about a “greater” purpose. And by “’greater’ purpose” I don’t mean anything religious or super spiritual or super natural, I just mean some purpose great enough to keep you motivated enough to achieve any goal you set for yourself.
“NO-BRAINERS” – Oh…really?
And there you have it, The 3 Keys to Results: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.
I heard about these 3 Keys via a Ted Talk a while ago and I thought it made perfect sense.
Yeah, a lot of us might think these 3 Keys sound like no-brainers, but trust me when I say it is crucial to brain the “no-brainers” from time to time because if you don’t “no-brainers” can lead to “no-action.”
Remember, just because you think it’s second nature doesn’t mean that it is…especially when that nature involves action! As noted before on this site, “It is so much easier to do nothing at all that the fact we do anything is remarkable” – John Mulaney (paraphrased).
