Have you ever started towards a goal and a week or so in found yourself uninspired or feeling defeated? I know I have. I spent years trying to lose weight. I would get excited about the new diet all my friends were doing and jump on the bandwagon. We would all do great the first week or so, maybe even a month. Then, one by one people would fall off. They would have a slip and tell themselves they failed so why continue or get tired of depriving themselves of foods they wanted. Whatever the reason they never met their goal.

One reason we often do not meet the goals we set for ourselves is that our reason for starting towards the goal is not strong enough to carry us through. That reason is your “Why.” Why do you want this goal? What drives to toward your goal? What will keep you wanting and working towards the goal once the initial fire burns out?

When you start a fitness program, direct sales venture, or even decide to go back to school people will ask you “what’s your Why?”. We ask this to help you find your motivation. It also helps determine your success. If your Why is weak, then the likelihood of excelling or even meeting your goal is less than if your Why is strong.

Let’s say your goal is to lose weight. You decide you are not happy with your current weight, size, body shape, whatever. Just the fact that you don’t like the way you look is often not enough to keep you on track. Yes, you can most definitely lose weight, but can you maintain that weight after the initial high of meeting the goal is gone. Most of the time the answer is no. Most of the time you reached your weight loss goal with a fad diet or some unsustainable plan because you wanted to see change right away and chose the path of least resistance.

Let’s take that same goal and change the Why. You want to lose weight, to have more energy for your family, to be more confident, and healthier overall. You start a sustainable exercise regimen that you can adjust as you progress and grow stronger, you begin cleaning up your diet, drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, and make lifestyle changes so that you don’t feel like you are depriving yourself of anything. As you begin to see changes its exciting and you work harder. Once you meet your initial goal, you continue your journey maintaining and surpassing your goals making new ones.

The second scenario shows a person who has more invested in their journey than just a change in their weight or smaller jeans. They want a better life for themselves and their loved ones. So I ask you, what do you want from your life? Are you happy where you are in life? Your job? Your health? If you are completely thrilled with your life, I applaud you! Most of us are happy on the surface but when asked can come up with something about our life we are not completely happy with.

My challenge for you is to take an in-depth look at your goals. Write them down. Decide which goal you want the most. Then write down a list of reasons you want that goal. Think about what made you want what it is you want. That becomes your Why. Then write down what you need to do to achieve that goal. Do you need to go back to school? Change your way of eating? Start exercising? Whatever it is, make a plan. You have to have a plan of action before you take any action or you cannot expect to excel.