Motivation on the Run

How much does determination play in motivation? I think it is huge and that without the determination to complete a goal, it will not be achieved. In the past week, I read two articles about Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner. One article was in Texas Monthly magazine, and the other in Selling Power magazine.

Before the cancer in 1996, Lance was a good cyclist, but not considered among THE elite. He managed to win one stage of the Tour de France, but also, had failed to finish several times. Post cancer, he became a different person with new goals, motivation to meet the goals, and a determination that assured achievement.

How does determination fit into the mix for achieving goals? First, a definition of terms.

A Goal is a set objective and can be something I want, or it can be something someone else wants (such as a boss or a spouse).

Motivation is the act of inducement toward a goal. This can be self-inducement or caused by an enticement such as money or prizes.

Determination is the resolve to complete a goal or the firmness of purpose toward the goal.

Want an example of how this works? I will give you one that I am doing right now. My goal to write more posts this year is the perfect example. I set the goal and applied SMART. The motivation is made up of several parts and is selfish, because the goal is mine and very personal. Now, with that in mind let’s dissect the parts that belong to motivation and see where determination fits in.

First Motivation -
One motivational factor is to improve my writing and learn how to write prose that entices people to want to get to the next paragraph to see what is coming. I have always enjoyed good writing, and I have decided to become a good writer. A lot of this is for self pleasure, but who knows what the future might bring.

Another motivating factor is money and it takes several forms. First, there are now professional writers that blog for companies and have enough clients that it becomes a full time job. That is one of the things on the horizon as I progress in my writing skills. Another way is through Google AdSense on the website. If the site contains better content because of better writing, more visitors will come to the site and see something of interest on the Google ads and click through. This is where pennies add up over time, but it is part of the motivation, if I am honest with you.

Second Determination -
That covers the goal and the motivating factors, but what about determination? Where does it fit into the scheme of things? Am I determined enough to keep the goal of writing for one hour each day and having the Redhead edit my text, thereby helping me get better?

Let’s say the motivation wasn’t enough to induce me to keep the goal, then the determination wouldn’t be strong enough by itself to keep me going for the whole year and beyond. Resolve is a funny thing and it can drive you only so far toward a goal, and the rest has to come from something else … oh, yeah, motivation.

Determination can be called “hard-headedness” and I have been accused of being hard-headed many times, but by itself, determination will not get a medium or long range goal done. You might grit your teeth for a short term goal and achieve it with determination, but it will come to a halt soon enough. If the goal was for one or two weeks, you see how I might be able to get there, but not long term. There must be more.

In the case of writing more, I have put a lot of thought into the goal, the motivation, and I have the resolve to accomplish the objective.

[tags]motivation, writing, determination, Lance Armstrong[/tags]