Conquering your goals: Motivation, Discipline and Resilience
Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. We have covered quite a few topics so far in our Conquering Your Goals series. Last week we talked about dealing with setbacks. This week we will dive into the role of Motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic) and Discipline, Consistency, Grit, and Perseverance.
Motivation (Intrinsic and Extrinsic)
When you are intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from doing it. When you are extrinsically motivated, you do something to gain an external reward. An example of intrinsic motivation is learning about history because you are interested in a certain period. As for extrinsic motivation, you learn about history because you want a good grade.
Most of our goals aligned with our core values tend to lean more toward intrinsically motivated. You may wish to walk more because you enjoy feeling more mobile. But at times people can strive to achieve something as they are motivated extrinsically, for example wanting to walk more so you can win the steps competition at your office. Typically you want a combination of both to excel at your goals! For example, if you wish to walk more and feel better, you may not feel like walking every day. It can help to have a tracking app that encourages your goal and acts as an extrinsic motivator.
Discipline
Even though motivation is talked about more often, It is usually far more helpful in getting you started than in keeping you motivated. As motivation can be quite inconsistent, your mood and external factors can greatly dictate how motivated you feel to achieve certain goals. To follow through with your plans, you need discipline. Discipline is the ability to consistently follow through on your commitments, regardless of whether you feel motivated at the moment. It involves self-control, routine, and the willingness to do what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like it.
One of the key realizations to remaining disciplined is accepting that there will be days when you will not feel like doing the things you need to do to reach your goals (this excludes valid restrictions such as a decline in health or unexpected life challenges). One way to reinforce discipline is to ensure there is accountability. You are more likely to do the thing you don’t want to do if there is some form of tracking or someone watching your progress.
Consistency, Grit, and Perseverance.
Consistency is likely one of the most important dictators of whether you will reach your goal. If you can master showing up, it will greatly help your chances of having what you desire. To be consistent with something, one requires grit and perseverance against all odds. Grit means sticking with something and working hard, even when it gets tough for a long period of time, for us to display grit, we need to persevere in the face of adversity.
📢Tasks (Please complete both)
- For the goal you’ve set, describe the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drive you.
- Reflect on a goal you’ve achieved in the past and consider how grit played a role in reaching that goal.
Further Reading
1. For the goal you’ve set, describe the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drive you.
My (beginning) goal of not drinking soda until the end of 2024 is a goal that I made for me. It's a goal not influenced by anyone else or anyone. It's simply because I want to get back to a place where I felt better by being more hydrated. I want to feel more energized by not drinking soda and consuming more water. I know the benefits of it and I am doing this for me and me only.
2. Reflect on a goal you’ve achieved in the past and consider how grit played a role in reaching that goal.
I have achieved numerous goals, but they were mainly academically. It was definitely a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that drove me to wanting to do what I did. However, looking back, everything that I "accomplished" never stuck with me nor am I doing anything with them in my current life as a mother, wife, and volunteer. Despite that, I do know the importance of having grit. And while grit does mean sticking with things when the tough gets going, grit is something that we should display always no matter what stage we are in life. It's a forever thing that we need to display for any and every goal we could have.
