Motivation: Investing part 3
Why x3. Anatomy of a Goal. Priorities.
Do you, like so many others, find it hard to act on what you know is best for you? For example, you likely know saving for retirement, exercising, and eating healthy is best for your future. However, much like myself, I imagine there are times when putting your knowledge into practice does not happen. It is one thing to have an understanding of what is best for your future - but it is another thing entirely to act on said knowledge. When this happens, we can often find a lack of motivation.
This blog post will explore some of the principles Dotson Physiotherapy uses to help people like you discover and leverage the motivation you already have in order to inspire you achieve a better future by regularly investing in your health.
The first principle, Why x3, is all about listening and understanding why is you are taking time from your busy day - on this day - to seek help - from us - to alter the trajectory of your life. Whatever motivated you to act in this way is likely a wellspring of motivation that can be tapped to help keep you motivated along the path to your better future.
The second principle, Anatomy of a Goal, is about using what motivates you - your why - to create goals that will generate as much intrinsic motivation and momentum towards your desired future as possible. Again, like all skills, it takes practice to get this right and a little coaching can go a long way.
The final principle we’ll be discussing in this post is Priorities. After all, we only have 24-hours in a day- unless one of you got ahold of Dr. Strange’s Time Stone - and thus, we must prioritize how we invest in our future.
Why x3
In an earlier post I posed the question, “Would you… for a million dollars?” The idea being that the greater the motivation, the more effort a person is willing the put forth. However, practice has shown that people often seek physical therapy without a compelling “why.” One strategy to help a person discover their compelling why is to apply a saying common in marketing and leadership circles, “Ask why at least three times.”
For example, when I first began intentionally practicing this principle, a person sought me out for help with shoulder pain. She further shared that, because of her busy life, she had allowed her shoulder pain to bother her for months. The first why: her shoulder hurts. Early in my career I would have considered this “why” sufficient. Fortunately for her, we did not meet early in my career.
As our dialogue continued I learned that, while her shoulder hurt at rest, she was really concerned about how it hurt when she lifted or carried objects. More specifically, she was afraid of dropping things. The second why: she is afraid of dropping things due to shoulder pain. Two “whys” down, one to go.
At some point in our chat, I chimed in, “Hmm… if I’m hearing correctly, this pain has been fairly consistent, neither better nor worse, for several months. What in your life has changed such that you are seeking my help now as opposed to months ago?” As it turns out, the week before she scheduled an appointment her only daughter had called to inform her she was going to become a grandmother. The third why: This grandmother-to-be is seeking physical therapy out of a fear that her shoulder pain might prevent her from being the grandmother she dreamed of becoming. You tell me, which is more motivating, a nagging pain in the shoulder, or fear of harming your future grandchild?
Anatomy of a Goal
Now that we’ve discovered your why, it is time to use it to create goals that will generate as much intrinsic motivation as possible. One way we help clients establish compelling goals is by utilizing principles from The 4 Disciplines of Execution. In this book Franklin Covey outlines the anatomy of a compelling goal as “From X to Y by When.” To illustrate this, lets look at how President John F Kennedy took NASA’s goal from 1958 and improved it in 1961. Then, let’s explore the same principle with the example patient from above.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA) was created on July 29, 1958. At this time, it’s ‘goal’ was “To provide research into problems of flight within and outside the earth’s atmosphere, and for other purposes.” Go ahead and read that again… Is it any wonder the USSR was winning the Space Race in 1960?
Of course, things changed when, in May 1961 President John F. Kennedy announced a new goal of, “before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” While Kennedy’s new goal for NASA fit within parameters of the original goal, it was much better constructed. It had a clear starting point (no man on the moon), a clear ending point (man on the moon), and a deadline (May, 1971).” By creating a goal with a clear beginning, ending, and deadline, President Kennedy inspired our country to win the space race.
Now, let’s explore how Dotson Physiotherapy specialists can use these same principles to help you generate as much motivation as possible from your why. In the example above, with the grandmother-to-be, her initial goal was, “I don’t want to hurt.” By adding clarity it became, “I want to be able to lift things.” With further refinement we developed a series of clear goals to be accomplished before her grandchild was born in six-months:
I will again be able to cook dinner for my daughter and her family, including using a cast iron pan.
I will be confident holding my grand-baby for at least three hours.
I will be able to carry a Costco-trip worth of groceries into the house without taking a break.
Not only did she accomplish all of these goals, but she did so well within her 6-month timeline and was able to help her daughter and son-in-law get their house ready for their brand new bundle of joy.
Priorities
Do you like bacon? What about steak? I certainly do. And yet, neither is very good for me. In fact, if I wanted to take one giant leap towards an even healthier me, eliminating foods like steak and bacon from my diet would be such a move. But… I like steak and bacon. In fact, I like steak and bacon more than I value the health benefits I know would come from not eating them. As such, were my dietician to tell me I needed to eliminate them from my diet, it would take some serious convincing and likely an imminent threat of which I am currently unaware. In short, the quality of life I gain by eating steak and bacon is a greater priority to me than any quantity of life that might be gained by giving them up. That is not to say that all diet changes are out of the question. For example, in October I gave up coffee because of what it did to my GI system. As much as I enjoyed drinking coffee with my wife on slow mornings, it was not worth the abdominal pain that often followed.
Each person has their own order of priorities. At Dotson Physiotherapy, we work with clients to integrate their priorities into the plan for a better future. This starts in the free Health & Goals Strategy Session when we talk about a prospective client’s priorities regarding cost, convenience, and quality of healthcare. Then, for those who become clients, it is a part of every session as we discuss potential paths towards a healthier tomorrow, identifying potential barriers and selecting a plan our client feels confident with.