Having a purpose
Sometimes we do things and then ask ourselves, "Why am I doing this?". Not having a defined purpose when carrying out a task is one of the main reasons why we procrastinate and don't achieve our goals.
We usually have a motivation to carry out an action, we don't act just for the sake of acting without even having conceived what we were going to do. However, motivation can vanish quickly, even more so if we don't have a previously defined path of realization. It becomes easy to lose heart in the face of problems, fatigue, doubts and uncertainty. We even come to think that the sacrifice is not worth the benefits to be obtained.
You have to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.
Not having a purpose is like walking blindly hoping that things will just happen. Seeking a purpose in what we do can be like light and darkness in the success we achieve.
Most of the time when we manage to finish a task we receive a certain sense of satisfaction for finishing or achieving what we were working for. This usually gives us the energy we need to continue with more or the comfort to stop and do other things that may be of our interest.
Finding a purpose
The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
When carrying out a task, some of the questions that have helped me find the purpose I need and therefore the motivation to do it have been the following:
- What do I have to do?
- Why am I going to do it?
- What is the objective?
- What benefits am I going to receive by doing it?
These questions usually give me the necessary impulse to get up and start with the task at hand. They are also the ones that help me not to give up once I encounter problems and difficulties.
It may be that even the previous questions do not provide the necessary incentive to complete a task, which usually happens when they are responsibilities imposed on us, which we have to complete even if we do not like doing them. In these cases, seeking to learn something from the task or trying to do it in a different way than we usually do can make the experience more enjoyable and provide us with motivation to do it.
The main reason why we don't complete a project, a task or some activity to be done, is almost always lack of motivation, purpose and an action plan to complete them.
Set your goals high, and don't stop until you're there. – Bo Jackson
As we set our goals and carry out our objectives with purpose, we will be able to achieve more and more.