Ever wondered why some entrepreneurs seem to sail effortlessly towards their goals, while others keep treading water? It's all tied to an intriguing blend of motivation, focus, and drive. But there's another factor that's more important than all of these.
In this article, I'll pull back the curtain on the science of achievement and delve into a surprising research study that reveals a simple trick which could double your chances of transforming your business aspirations into reality.
The Study
These days, given all of the media attention about underlying medical conditions, many of us have set a goal of exercising regularly to maintain a healthy weight. But a study in the British Journal of Health Psychology, reveals why most of us will fail to achieve our goal.
The researchers behind the study measured how frequently 248 adults exercised over a 2–week period. Study participants were divided into one of three groups:
The control group were asked to log their activity every day. Before they began, they were asked to read the first three paragraphs of a totally unrelated novel.
The second group was inspired to exercise through motivation. Like the first group, they too were also asked to keep track of how frequently they exercised over the observation period, but before they began, each person was asked to read a brochure on the benefits of exercise for reducing the risk of heart disease.
Participants in Group 2 were also told, “Most young adults who have stuck to a regular exercise program have found it to be very effective in reducing their chances of developing coronary heart disease.”
The third group was the Action Plan Group. After being told to track their exercise, they also read the motivational brochure and got the same speech as Group 2. This was done to ensure that Group 2 and Group 3 were equally motivated.
Unlike Group 2, however, the action group were also asked to develop an action plan for when and where they would exercise over the following week. Each person in the action plan group was asked to develop a plan describing what they intended to do using the following framework:
During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME OF DAY] at/in [PLACE].
The Findings
Two weeks later, the researchers were surprised by what had happened in the three groups.
In the control group, 38% of participants exercised at least once per week. The motivated group actually performed slightly worse with just 35% exercising weekly.
In the action plan group, however, 91% of participants exercised at least once per week.
Simply by writing down an action plan that said when and where they intended to exercise, the participants in Group 3 were much more likely to actually follow through.
The Takeaway
Most of us are motivated to achieve our goals but the British researchers discovered what pulls that desire out of you, and turns it into action, isn’t your level of motivation, but rather your action plan for implementation.
Similar studies, including one from Dr. Gail Matthews at the Dominican University in California, the same findings have been validated all over the world. Her study on goal-setting with nearly 270 participants came to the same conclusion: you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.
It’s not enough to want success, be it a valuable business or a successful career, in fact, just being motivated may actually have a detrimental impact on your results. What you need is motivation combined with a specific action plan detailing three things:
- What you will do
- Where you will do it
- When you will do it by
To achieve anything on a consistent basis, regardless of our motivation, we’ve got to write down a specific action plan for achieving that goal. That includes the what, when, who and how of every goal.
To your success,
