Seek the best goal to meet your motivation
Explore alternative goals and choose the best fit for what drives you.
You’ve captured your goal and uncovered its core motivation. Now look for the best goal to satisfy that motivation.
You want to achieve your goal (a means) because you believe it will help you fulfill its motivation (the end). Never confuse the means with the end. For example, you might think you want to lose weight, but what you really want is to see your grandchildren grow up. You might think you want to save a specific amount of money, but what you really want is financial security or the freedom to travel.
When setting a goal, we often grab the first option that comes to mind without asking if it is the best way to meet our deeper motivation. Better approaches usually exist. Start with the end in mind: what are you trying to achieve? Losing weight might seem like the path to stronger relationships, but if your intention is deeper connection, spending more time with loved ones, having meaningful conversations, or joining a social group may work better.
Generating options is like an artist filling a sketchbook with multiple sketches and a musician improvising multiple melodies, letting possibilities emerge.
1️⃣ Generate goals that could fulfill your underlying motivation, especially ones that match:
👉 your personality, such as being introverted or extroverted
👉 your strengths, like creativity or organization
👉 the resources you have available, including time, money, or support
Write down at least ten options, even if some feel imperfect at first.
There are several strategies you can use to generate goals.
👉 Look for information and inspiration: Search online, read books, or listen to podcasts related to your motivation. See how others have approached similar goals and adapt their ideas to generate new options.
👉 Consult others: Talk to friends, mentors, or colleagues and ask how they might pursue the same motivation or what has worked for them. Hearing different perspectives can spark ideas you might not have considered.
👉 Brainstorm individually or in a group: List as many options as possible for fulfilling your motivation without judging them. Encourage wild or unconventional ideas. After generating a specified number of ideas, bundle similar options into categories, such as personality fit, available resources, or different approaches.
The aim is to generate a variety of options to discover the goals that best fit your motivation.
2️⃣ Ask yourself which goal feels most in tune with your why, the core reason that matters to you. To help decide which goal is the best fit, use a few practical strategies to evaluate your options, including your original goal.
👉 Visualize yourself pursuing each goal. Imagine how your daily life would change with each option and which feels most natural or energizing. Consider how each goal would fit into your daily routines, energy levels, and the results you hope to achieve over time.
👉 Score each goal on effectiveness. Rate how well you think each goal will achieve your core motivation. You can use a simple scale, such as 1 to 5, and consider factors like likely impact, feasibility, and alignment with your life purpose and values. Comparing these scores can help you identify which goals are strongest and most promising.
👉 Consider which goal makes the best use of your personality, strengths, and available resources. Ask yourself which goals feel most natural, leverage your skills, and could realistically be pursued given your time, energy, and support network. Reflecting on fit ensures that the goal you choose is both motivating and achievable.
👉 Test small steps: Try tiny actions related to one or more of your options to experience how they work in practice before diving in completely. This allows you to explore different goals and gain insight without taking on too much risk.
By using these techniques, you can identify the goal that best aligns with your motivation and sets you up for effective progress. If one stands out, make it your revised goal. Rewrite your goal and core motivation like this:
I want to [what you want to achieve] because [your core motivation].
Keep the list of goals you’ve generated. Take small steps to put your chosen goal into practice. If it goes well, it can lead to a natural next goal to pursue. If it doesn’t, you’ll have other options ready to explore.
🎉👏🎈
Once you’ve chosen the best goal to meet your motivation, the next step is getting clear on your goal.
