I like theatre. When I was in High School, I was very active in CHS Players, our High School’s Drama Department. Many of the lessons I learned while doing various plays and musicals still stick with me today (kudos to Kathy Breeden, who was one of my favorite high school teachers!). One thing I learned I still find quite useful even today.

In theatre, there exists a common question that is asked of actors. “What’s your motivation?” It sounds like a funny question, even one that has been ridiculed in various parodies of actors and actresses. And yet, as it does in the fantasy world of theatrics, it has very real implications in the very real world in which we live.

What’s YOUR motivation?

To put into context the importance of this question, let’s enter into a hypothetical situation: weight loss. It is late-February, and most New Year’s Resolutions have gone out the window. One of the most common resolutions is of the get-in-shape/lose-weight variety. And while these are important goals, why is it that so many of us fail to follow through with our good intentions? Because we don’t have the appropriate motivation.

Big revelation, eh?

I mean, you don’t need some “talking head” on a website telling you that the reason that resolutions fail is a lack of appropriate motivation, right? But let’s dig deeper.

We all HAVE motivations for wanting to lose weight and get in shape. But are they the right ones? For instance, if your motivation is to “be healthier”, it’s not really a motivation. It’s nebulous and it doesn’t really provide a true motivation.

So, what is in appropriate motivation for getting healthy or losing weight? Pick one! Maybe you want to go on a vacation in the summer, and you want to fit into certain size swimwear. Maybe you want to run a 10K and need to get in better shape to accomplish it. Maybe you are “tired of being tired” all the time and you simply want to eliminate the after-work nap that you feel compelled to take. All of these are perfectly good motivations. So why do these tend to work and “being healthier” doesn’t?

Specificity! Be specific.

Before you set a goal for yourself, ask yourself “Why do I want to accomplish this?”. Accomplishment for the sake of accomplishment ends up in disappointment.

In addition to giving you good solid reasons for striving to meet your goal, asking yourself “Why?” also helps you to define appropriate goals. For instance, many people want to make more money. But, when you ask yourself “Why do I want to make more money?” you might find that your reasons aren’t very good, and that it is not an appropriate goal for which to strive.

So, specificity in goal-setting not only helps to motivate you towards your goal more effectively, but it also helps you set goals that are worthwhile and impactful.

Finally, I would encourage you to have another simple criterion for your motivations: Does this benefit ONLY me, or other people around me? I would submit that those goals that benefit people that you care about in addition to yourself are truly the goals that are worth pursuing.

All right. I’ve said enough.  Now…GO GET ‘EM!