Staying the course when the going gets rough isn’t always easy. Not stopping and not quitting comes from understanding your strongest personal motivators. Which inner motivator is strongest; is it fear of loss or desire for gain?

There are days when it is tough even motivating yourself to get out of bed let alone to work diligently on goals that may not even be completed for years. The question becomes, how do you keep yourself motivated so you’re consistently going forward in positive and powerful ways?

How do you begin figuring out what’s important to you? Here are a few questions:
1. Do you work harder and longer if your “values” are involved? Examples: Happy family, positive recognition, financial security or being a successful role model.

2. Can people, especially family, guilt you into doing things even if you’re not sure it is best for you?

3. Do you ever worry you’ll run out of money?

4. Do you regularly visualize and/or affirm your goals and abundant future?

5. Does the future excite you more often than frighten or overwhelm you?

Results of this unscientific quiz are at the end of this article.

Your internal and external actions and reactions are motivated by something that is emotionally, physically and financially important to you. When you can pin point what is important, you’ll know how to consistently motivate yourself toward achieving goals without self-sabotaging.

If your predominant motivation is desire for gain, then your emotional job is to show yourself how life is going to be much better after you’ve achieved your goals. Focus your energy on achieving MORE of what you want – more time, more money, more fun, etc.

If your predominant motivation is fear of loss, then your emotional job is to show yourself how life is going to become more uncomfortable and fearful if you do not achieve your goals. Focus your energy on what will be LOST if you don’t achieve – loss of income, loss of health, loss of approval.

The internal motivation coming from a combination of fear of loss and desire for gain is extremely powerful. If my goal is to build a home on a lake and have it completed within five years, I may think to myself, “If I don’t build the lake home, I will lose out on some fun times with my family. Building the Lake Woebegone home, I know I’ll have a relaxing and beautiful home for entertaining and enjoying some special times with some of my favorite people.” I’m giving myself a way to be motivated by both gain of pleasure and avoidance of loss.

Overly fearing loss can be emotionally, physically and financially paralyzing. Overly focusing on desire for gain can create an almost child-like wishful approach to goal setting. Success comes from going forward with optimism and consistent positive action yet, staying mindful of what you’ll miss out on if your goals do not become reality.

Here are the unscientific results of the short quiz:
1. Desire for gain
2. Fear of loss
3. Fear of loss
4. Desire for gain
5. Desire for gain

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