Where your goals are the clear action steps that help clarify what you need to do today, your why is the engine that drives you to do them.
It is what gets you out of bed when you don’t feel like it. It is what motivates you to do it anyway when it would be easier not to. And your “why” will enable you to work on your goals even in spite of the temporary pain and discomfort that inevitably accompanies any dream worth achieving.
So why are you putting the goal on your list? Why do you want to accomplish that goal? What makes it a worthwhile endeavour?
If you can identify how your goal fits into your life purpose, then finding the motivation to accomplish your goals becomes very doable even against great odds. It gives you the energy to plod away at it bit by bit, without giving up.
Because when you see how your goal fits into your life purpose, it is easier to see the importance of the little things you do. Even if they are just small steps, they are bringing you closer to your dream. And when you can see that, every small step forward becomes part of your motivation to continue.
Often it is our values that drive us to do something. And sometimes our values sabotage what we are trying to do, because they oppose us. I talked a little about that last week in “Defining your Win.” Sometimes our motivation will come out of our values.
Maybe your being healthy isn’t your life purpose. But working out is still a worthwhile goal. And you may find the motivation you need for that in your values. Believing that you were created for great things and that God is pleased when you take good care of your body, can be a powerful why.
If you do not believe that God is pleased with who He created you to be, then your values may sabotage your efforts until you have dealt with them first.
When you have checked your goals against your life purpose and your values, it is time to dream. Imagine a time in the future where your goals become a reality, and see how your life will be different. See how healthy you are and how great you feel for working out so consistently. Dream of how much energy that will give you.
Or if it is financial, dream of the day when all the debts have been paid off. How liberating does that feel? Imagining the world you are creating, helps you see the importance of what you are currently doing, even if it is painful at times. The Bible calls it faith: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT