I am a goal driven person.
Every January I go through and make a list of goals to accomplish for the year. I probably make too many (had as many as 125 goals one year) but they keep me motivated & prevent boredom. While I never accomplish all my yearly goals, I do finish enough things that it keeps me inspired to repeat the exercise each year.
But maybe there is something else going on that motivates me to make that January list every year despite failures.
According to researchers at the University of Alberta, it’s my unconsciuos mind that is keeping me motivated.
I didn’t completely understand the research but it seems like that when you make a long term goal (like living until 107 or joggling 44 marathons) your unconscious mind makes you feel good about small successes which makes you more inspired to take the next step in the goal. But when you fail, while your conscious mind might get frustrated, your unconscious mind continues to make you feel good about the long term goal.
So, what does it all mean? I dunno. I guess it means if you make a long term goal, don’t forget about it. If you haven’t pursued it in months or years, don’t worry, your mind will let you start it up again.
This may be why writing down your goals is so useful. It helps you remember & if you don’t remember a goal, you probably aren’t going to accomplish it.
If you’re curious about my 2011 goals, here they are (with a status update). They are not written the best but they work for me.
I’ve finished a few things, given up on some and made a tiny bit of progress on most things. That’s pretty much how my goals go every year.
Joggle on!
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