When we start a project, we are excited about the possibilities. Something new can give us a jolt of adrenaline and give us a new passion for the days ahead. But how do we keep our interest strong when we are in the middle of a tough, drawn-out slough?
“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”
Horace Walpole
This time of year, high school seniors are well into “senioritis.” They can see that the end is in sight, but the distance between March and May feels like a million miles away. We have all been there. I was probably thinking about this when I wrote this post on postponing school for lack of interest.
How do you keep your interest strong when a project takes longer than the enthusiasm it initially produced?
Focus on One Thing
In the book The ONE Thing, by Gary Keller, the author states that the reason many projects fail is that we don’t focus our energy on the one big goal that matters.
Distractions can take us off course very quickly. The tyranny of urgent matters gets in the way of the big goal that is important but doesn’t seem as urgent when the result is months out.
Focus on the one big goal and visualize what it will be like when we hit that goal.
Remember the Why
Why is this project or goal so important? What results will it bring when it is achieved? When we achieve it, how will it make us feel?
We can get bogged down in the how of a goal and lose sight of the reason we started it in the first place. In Start with Why, Simon Sinek reminds us that when we know why we are doing something, it is tremendously motivational.
Acknowledge the Messy Middle
Every long-term project has a messy middle. We get excited at the beginning and rejoice when the goal is achieved. But in the middle are many obstacles, detours, and frustrations. If it was easy, someone else would have done it already, right?
Any worthy project will have a messy middle. We can acknowledge we are there, focus on the goal and remember the why. It can get us through challenging times.
Keep Your Interest Strong!
Today may be messy. We may be distracted for a moment. But keep going! Whether we have senioritis, a cumbersome project, or a life stage that seems to drag on forever, we can keep motivated and keep moving towards a worthy goal.