Are you working towards goals that don’t bring you any pleasure? Do you not have the motivation to get anything done? You can fix this. Start by finding out what you really want.

If your outcome doesn’t have a vital purpose behind it, it’s probably not a very good outcome. Why? Because without a strong reason to do something, you might lack the motivation to do it.

Your outcomes should also have an end date. And you need to hold yourself accountable to it.

You may like the outcome. And you may be able to deliver the expected results. But what if in your head the end goal doesn’t justify the hard work? What if you end up making excuses to not do it?

Let me share with you Auggie’s story to put things into context and explain why outcomes aren’t always set in stone.

Auggie had a clear outcome of setting five new appointments in one week. Although he had enough energy, he didn’t grind enough. He set only one out of five because he wasn’t focused enough on growing his business.

According to him, he didn’t even give himself an excuse or permission to not pursue his outcomes. Distractions and loss of focus got the better of him.

At first, he got overwhelmed. And then he went into shutdown mode.

Perhaps his outcome for that week wasn’t giving him the motivation he needed. Going into shutdown mode like he did can’t help you reach your goals.

Sometimes, you need a different approach in how you define your outcomes and pursue them. Here are six tips to help you out.

Tip #1 – Find Something to Get Excited About

Auggie got some negative feedback based on his performance. He took it and rolled with it because he understood why he deserved it.

But he faced another underlying issue. 

I talked to Auggie and I couldn’t pinpoint anything that got him excited. As he put it, he was in a rut. Nothing piqued his interest enough to get things done. Due to the quarantine, being stuck in the house, and everything else – nothing pushed him enough.

So I asked him what usually got his juices flowing. What gave them the energy to reach his goals?

His answer was straightforward.

Auggie found pleasure in connecting with clients and helping them overcome their insecurities. He’s not excited about talking to new clients or people he doesn’t know yet.

That said, the takeaway here is to find something to get excited about. Once you find that, you can focus your attention on meeting your goals.

Even in Auggie’s case, some things give him pleasure about finding referrals and connecting with clients.

Like him, if you focus on the parts that do get you excited, eventually you’ll find the strength to carry on and get your desired outcome.

Tip #2 – Focus on the Things That Aren’t There Right Now

Another area that I see people struggle in has to do with distractions. Even Auggie admits that work and home-related distractions keep him from meeting his goals.

But perhaps like him, you also focus too much on identifying those distractions.

What happens after you do that is what really interests me.

Do you attempt to overcome those distractions? Do you put in the effort to fix the issues that prevent you from reaching your outcomes?

Say, for example, you don’t like picking up the phone and cold calling other people. Do you stop calling?

No. Because that doesn’t help you achieve anything.

I want to suggest a different approach. Instead of calling people yourself, devise a system where people have to contact you instead. Maybe that can shift your focus to the things that matter.

I find it much easier to try to fix things first instead of powering through things that you don’t like to do.

Tip #3 – Work on Your Emotions to Access a Higher State

To change your outcomes, it’s important to find a higher state. A state in which your emotions don’t overwhelm you.

Take Auggie as an example. His demeanor indicates a certain apathy about picking up the phone and calling specific clients. But that lack of interest hides a sea of emotions, beyond pain and pleasure.

Dealing with those emotions is one of the most essential steps to getting back your motivation.

If you understand your emotions and fix them, you can get back into a higher state. You can get back your drive to work, meet your goals, and come up with your desired outcome.

Switching from pain to pleasure is not like flipping a switch. It’s crucial to identify those emotions and deal with them one at a time.

Tip #4 – Show Yourself that You Can Provide Value

When you offer something of value, it’s effortless to sell it to those in your niche. One of the best ways to reach your outcome is to provide something of value. That often seals the deal with clients.

But first, you must believe in yourself, your services, and your product. Because if you don’t believe that you offer enough value, your clients won’t, either.

It all starts with you.

And there’s another reason to show yourself that you can provide value – it can boost your self-confidence. It enables you to work harder towards your desired outcome because you know that you can get there.

Tip #5 – Commit to Something

Having a purpose behind your outcomes is critical. But I found that it’s not always enough to work towards your goals.

Sometimes you have to commit to something else, too.

I suggest a morning routine.

It’s important to have something that you can commit to every day. It will help prioritize other goals and keep you grounded.

It proves to you that you can do something once you set your mind to it. It should make it easier for you to balance your emotions and deal with other issues.

Once you can commit to something for the long haul, you might find it easier to commit to reaching your outcomes, too.

Tip # 6 – Write Down a Plan

Growing a business requires planning. It requires an in-depth analysis of the metrics and a drive to want more. But how can you do that? How can you set a new outcome and make sure you can meet it?

Rich Rose had an interesting experience with planning.

Although his business was doing well, he noticed a tendency to become complacent. He thought, “Why be happy with just good and why not aim for great?”

So, he started planning. He looked at all his clients to figure out who’s a good fit and who isn’t.

He started thinking about hiring more people and how he could do that in a way that would speed up his company’s growth.

Having an analytical mind, Rich did a lot of the math for his plan in his head. He knew the outcome that he wanted and how to get there.

But, here’s the problem – Rich didn’t put pen to paper. He’s only at the point where he had ideas on how to proceed but not any real plan laid out.

So he didn’t start the growth process yet.

Ideas are great. Having ideas, creativity, and motivation is what pushes you to press forward and reach your goals.

But it’s easy to get sidetracked if you don’t have your plan right in front of you.

If you keep all that information in your head, it’s easy to change a few ideas along the way. Or even to get overwhelmed by new ideas.

What’s important is to outline your plan. Have a physical representation of that plan so that you can follow all the steps accordingly. It helps with your focus because you can always see what you want to get and what you need to do to get there.

You can’t always go from point A to B in an instant. There are stops along the way.

So you must understand the progression between wanting something and getting it. This is where proper planning comes into play.

Overcome Your Pain and Change Outcomes That Don’t Bring You Pleasure

Not all outcomes bring pleasure or positive results. That’s because the journey to meeting your goals matters as much as the end result itself.

To reach more consistency in your life, you must learn to identify what you want. Have a well-defined purpose for why you want something. It’s a strategy that helps you understand if something is worth doing and why you should do it.

Finding motivation isn’t always easy – and there’s nothing wrong about that. It’s just how people are.

But it doesn’t mean that you should give up meeting your goals or setting new goals.

Remember, the results don’t come to you. You have to go after them. And the best results come from purpose and a pleasurable journey to get that thing that you want the most.

You can achieve the best results when you combine an analytical approach with a state of emotional balance. Or even a higher state that helps you to reach a laser focus on the things you want. That’s a lot better than focusing on common distractions, making excuses, and not delivering with consistency.

And, whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways I can help you make you and your team more productive in order to grow your business:

1. Join the Executing Executives Facebook Group and connect with other business owners who are strategizing to execute too.

It’s our new Facebook community where smart entrepreneurs learn to get more income, impact, and independence. — Click Here

2. Get the 90-Minute Crash Course

I’m getting business owners together this month to map out a simple plan so they can get you and your team executing productively in 30-days. — Click here for the details, and register if it looks useful to you.

3. Work with me and my team privately

If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take your business to the next stratosphere, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!