Fear and desire

The two most powerful motivators are fear and desire. You can harness their power to get yourself going. Some people respond more to fear. Others are more responsive to desire as a driving force. And there are those who respond about equally to fear and desire. If you take a look at the decisions you’ve made in the past, and at your reasons for making those decisions, you’ll get a good idea of whether you are motivated primarily by fear, desire, or both. For example, if you’ve ever bought a house, did you buy it because you were excited about the prospects of living in that house and that neighborhood, or because you were afraid that home prices were rising so fast you’d be priced out of the market?

To harness the power of fear in getting you to take action, think about all the bad things that would happen if you didn’t get the job done. Because fear is such a powerful motivational force, inaction is often possible only when you avoid thinking about the negative consequences that will result. To spur yourself into action, use your mind to dwell on the undesirable things that will come about if you fail to take action. We often think of fear as preventing us from doing things, and it certainly can have that effect. Keep in mind, though, that if you frame your fear in the right way, in can be just as powerful an influence for positive action. Basically, fear seeks to avoid that which is undesirable. When you make the connection between negative consequences and lack of action, fear will get you going in a powerful way.

Or perhaps you are more strongly motivated by desire. To utilize the power of desire, think of all the benefits that will come from your taking action. Visualize, clearly and in detail, the positive results of making the effort. Create a powerful desire within yourself to attain those results. Surely you’ve experienced in the past that when you desire something strongly enough, you’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Those people who get a lot of things accomplished have learned to tap in to that driving force by creating and guiding their desires to match their goals. Desire is a great way to get yourself moving. Desire is nothing to be ashamed of—it’s a powerful force that anyone can utilize.

The power of desire is a great reason to have written goals. The more clearly and specifically you can identify the intended results of your action, the more powerful your driving desire will be. Not only do specific, well-articulated goals serve to direct your actions, they also can provide the energy and motivation for those actions. When you vividly visualize the outcome, you’re compelled to take the necessary actions.