It’s been about 134 days since we all made those “New Years Resolutions.”

So, how are you doing with those?

The answer was either a wow, an ouch or something in-between.  Good, because whatever emotion that brought up for you, declare it perfect and move forward in a powerful direction.

Gym owners and weight loss providers love January 1st because that week is when so many people come in to join for the year, participate for a few weeks and then slowly disappear.

Consider this, replace the gym or weight loss program with any other new behavior change like learning a new language, getting up at a certain time, making sales calls and more. You see, we know human nature… you get all excited in the beginning yet somewhere along the way the enthusiasm fades and the new behavior is dropped.

Why does this happen?

Ask any expert and they will say… it’s not having a strong and compelling reason, a or “why.”

I once worked with a real estate agent that I was providing leads for. He was an average producer doing OK – not great yet not bad, just about average. One day he called me and said, “Mark, I have a $50,000 court judgement!” So what happened next?

Nothing changed in my business model; same leads and same market conditions. Over the next 6 months, his production nearly grew by 10X. He called me and said, “I paid off the judgement.” The next month and following months his production returned to his pre-judgement average pattern.

What moved him from average, to 10X and back to average?

This agent had a short-term compelling “why” that drove his daily behavior. When his “why” faded, so did his daily routine and motivation. The conclusion: getting clear on why you want to create something is basic science at this point.

You want to increase sales… Why?

You want to lose 25 pounds… Why?  

You want to spend more time with family and less time working… Why?

What is it you REALLY want? 

Is it the weight loss or how it makes you feel? Is it the increased sales or the financial freedom that brings you? What do you really want? Ask yourself, answer and repeat that about 5 times to get to the REAL answer.

When the days get tough and life gets in the way, it’s the compelling “why” that keeps you engaged and on track.

Let us compare these two scenarios:

A: Making more sales is important to me because I want to have more money.

B: Making more sales is important to me because it provides me more freedom in supporting my family, it creates more options of travel and schools for me and my family, it allows me to contribute more to the charities and my community that I love and are dear to my heart.

With B you can feel the reason. You can see the reason. You can believe the reason. B is crystal clear.

Another example to consider:

A: Making more sales is important to me because I want to be happy.

B: Making more sales is important to me because I want to make the best out of the cards I was dealt in life. I want to celebrate life, provide for my family, give back to my community and live with joy.

With B, it is much more meaningful than a vague “I want to be happy.” Yes!?

….So, why does your “why” matter?

If you actually believe creating a compelling “why” can change your behavior, then it will. If you believe it won’t, then it won’t. The choice is yours to make. It’s like Henry Ford said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”

Think about one of your major accomplishments…  strong reason “why” was part of your formula. Without a compelling “why”, whatever you attempt will just be another project that sits on the shelf collecting dust.

Positive change awaits you when you make the effort and you tie it to a compelling reason “why!”  

Now, I’d like to know… what goal is important to you?  What will accomplishing this goal do for you? What’s your “WHY” for this goal? 

Share your thoughts and comments with us now, we value your contribution to this community.