Cover Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
It’s important to have a feeling to strive for
Awhile back, a friend asked me what I was proud of having accomplished in the past 3 months. Even though I consider myself a pretty self-aware person, it was still a difficult question to answer. I remember at the time that my answer was to have followed through on learning three new skills a month.
I’m asking you the same question he asked me then: “What is the one thing you are proud of having accomplished in the past 3 months?”
How easy is it for you to answer this question?
This question had led me to think about the future. If I know what I’m proud of in the recent past, would it be interesting to ask myself a similar question, but in anticipation? I came up with the following question:
What’s the one thing I want to be proud of 3 months from now?
I’m an advocate for having clearly defined, measurable and time-based goals but it’s rarely enough. Goals are usually emotionless — and whether I like it or not, like any other human, I act on emotion and justify with logic. So, if I want to act on my goals, an emotion needs to be attached to it.
What emotions do you attach to your goals?
Pride is a feeling. It’s something you feel in your body. When you visualize what you want to be proud of, a biological reaction happens in your body. I’m no biology expert, but I wouldn’t be surprised your body produces serotonin when that happens, increasing your overall happiness and motivation.
How motivated are you to achieve your goals?
Three months from now, I want to be proud of having finished a game I’ve been working on for over 6 years on and off. I’m not very good at finishing projects I start, especially not big ones. So finishing a 6-year-long project is a massive accomplishment for me.
That’s the one thing for me.
I can already imagine the day I’ll send the last official build on Steam and players will finally be able to buy it. I can see where I’m going to be when that happens. I can see who’s going to be there when that happens. I can see myself and my team celebrating.
The image is so clear in my head that I want to make it happen no matter what. There’s no turning back. There isn’t even a motivation to turn back. I reached the point of no return a while back now.
What is your point of no return?
I came up with the question of anticipated pride probably a year ago now and sadly don’t follow through frequently enough on it. Yet every time I do, I get the intense motivation to accomplish things. Starting today, this question makes it on my whiteboard. I’ll see it every time I lift my eyes and it will remind me that no matter how logical I claim to be, my emotions guide my actions.
How do you remind yourself of things you know are important, yet forget?
I encourage you to answer this question for yourself:
What’s the one thing I want to be proud of 3 months from now?
It’s completely fine if you can’t answer it without reflection. I’d argue it’s even better because that reflection will bring out your real motivation behind the feeling.
Know what you want to be proud of and go make it a reality.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)