The Four Words That Will Always Motivate You

You can attach four words to your goals that will help keep you motivated toward achieving them. Those four words are:

“So That I Can.”

The “So That I Can” is the most important part of your goal because what comes after it is what really motivates you. Going to the gym isn’t exciting, but going to the gym “so that I can” look great in a bathing suit this summer IS exciting... and motivating.

Let’s say your goal for the semester is to get on the dean’s list. For that to happen, you need at least a 3.5 this semester. So the goal of merely getting a 3.5 transforms into the goal of getting a 3.5 this semester so that I can get into a top med school. This technique will allow you to focus on the benefit you’ll get from accomplishing that specific goal.

A lot of students write “4.0” on an index card, tape it to their desks, and look at the number 4.0, but there’s no feeling behind it. It’s just a number. The “So That I Can” gives you the emotion needed to take massive action. And without a good enough reason, most things seem to find a way of not getting done.

Arel Moodie is widely known as America's Top Young Speaker. He has spoken to over 65,000 students in 39 states and 2 countries on the topics of student success, student leadership and student entrepreneurship. He is a leading authority on helping students of this generation succeed in school and in life. He is also the best selling author of the book Your Starting Point For Student Success. To find out more about Arel's book, go to www.startingpointbook.com. To find out more about Arel's speaking please go to www.arelmoodie.com.