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Rahul Bhargava shares an article and advice on how to stay motivated by following the strategies of high output achievers. 

Few years back, I was part of a ‘merger/acquisition management’ project. These projects are unusually stressful. As a professional, you are not sure of your next role for weeks or months. It’s like the phase after an exam and before the results. One just waits, and waits.

The numerous failed attempts of mine always keeps me curious about the secrets behind successful weight loss journeys. This journey of persistence also seems interesting as decoding its secrets will give insights that can be applicable in being motivated for most business and life goals.

“How did you stay motivated throughout?”, I asked my friend.

“I have tried losing weight countless times. Trying almost every method in various phases, right from Keto diet, Yoga, Running, I realised that there was no problem with a particular method. All of them are good.”, he said.

Then with the looks of an authority on this topic, he added “Then one day I learnt about Motivated Manny, and Frustrated Frank and this time I knew I got the solution.”

“My understanding is that motivation is a myth created to give an excuse for no action” , he continued.

Cliche as it sounded, I thought my friend was getting philosophical. But then, he went on to tell the story of his transformation, and I had no second thought about believing the statement he made.

Ever since that conversation, I have adopted the principle for any goal that I pursue. The results are highly satisfactory, and I believe that most high-output achievers have a similar principle of operation.

Motivated Manny, Frustrated Frank

Frank and Manny both had similar goals for weight loss – lose 60 pounds in 6 months. That is 10 pounds per month.

Starting with high intensity efforts in exercise, diet, and daily weight track, Frank was excited to see 3-4 pounds of weight reduction in each of the initial 3 weeks. But in the 4th week, the reduction was only 1 pound which continued for about 2 more weeks. By the end of 6th week, Frank got frustrated and finally gave up the 6-month goal.

Manny, on the other hand, resorted to a different approach. He broke down the goal into smaller tasks – diet, exercise, and sleep. For each of these tasks he created a daily and weekly routine. For example, what to eat first thing in the morning, number of glasses of water to drink daily, etc.

Key points include:

• The motivation myth
• The process to achieve success
• Daily inputs and targets

Read the full article, How high output achievers stay motivated, on PurpleCrest.co.