The Surprising Way To Know You Are Chasing The Wrong Goal.

You’ve got to want it. No matter what your dream is you’ve got to want it.

Maybe you want to make more money. Maybe you want to be in a relationship where you feel valued. Maybe you want to be happy.

It doesn’t really matter what you want. To get it you have to be consumed with desire.

Getting what you want can’t just be an option.

It has to be the difference between life and death. Like oxygen or water, it has to be elemental to your reason for living.

Let’s be honest. We all have goals. Some of them you say out loud and share with others. Some are so crazy audacious that you keep them inside. Locked away. And unsaid.

You’re afraid that you’re never going to achieve it, so why even spend the time thinking about it. Why let yourself be disappointed.

Staying motivated is a challenge that we all face.

And the same time, stress and burnout are at an all-time high in today’s business environment. And it’s safe to say that at some level you are going through the exact same thing.

It may not be today, but it’s been a day recently.

Everything seems to pile on you. Your money problems. You’re people problems. Your recent failures.

It piles on and on and on. Until at last, you find yourself suffocated. Like you can barely breathe.

With everything pressing down on you, you find yourself straining to find the will to take the next step. To do what needs to be done.

You want to want it but you weren’t sure how.

You know that where you’re at now isn’t a place you want to stay long, but you feel trapped. And broken.

Inside you, the dream of getting to where you want to be feels completely lost.

And the answer for you might be as surprising for you as it was for me.

A few years ago, I found myself on a stage in Dubai presenting a speech to wealthy business leaders who had flown there from Russia to learn the latest strategies for business growth.

As I was taking the stage, the person introducing me went off script a little bit and made the comment that I was an ultra runner, had claimed some records for running long distances, and that I was an extreme athlete.

After my speech was done, I was asked by the conference organizers to answer some questions from the business leaders in attendance. I was expecting to be asked about the marketing strategies I had presented earlier or the business insights I had delivered for the last two and a half hours. Instead, I was asked a peculiar question that I have thought about many times since.

A well-dressed businessman towards the back of the room was handed the microphone and he looked at me earnestly: “What do you do to stay motivated? I have goals. And I’m sure you have goals. What do you do if you want to be motivated?”

My response was automatic. I didn’t even think about it. And what I said surprised me a little: “It’s not about having more motivation. It’s about having bigger dreams. If you’re fire burns hot enough then you never have to worry about the flame going out.”

Instead of chasing more inspiration, find a bigger dream.

You don’t give up on things that matter to you.

You stand and fight for them. You find a way. But if you don’t need to win you probably won’t.

So if you want to want it but you’re not sure why you don’t, maybe you’re looking in the wrong spot.

Maybe it’s not about you lacking the motivation to take the next step. Maybe what you think you want isn’t really what you know you need.

You’re chasing the wrong thing.

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