But there's always a difference in what motivates and/or drives each individual and the people who tend to line their goals up with their drive or their why always seem to come out on top. How in the world do you figure out what drives you? How often do you ask yourself that question? And...

 

What in the world does this have to do with working out?fitness?health? Well, initially you may come through the doors with some sort of goal.....you know....drop 50lbs, lose some fat, look better, look like some physique competitor and the list goes on and on. However, it's tough to reach that goal without knowing your why....If your drive or reason for wanting the result isn't large enough, at some point the goal becomes less and less important to you and you may even just quit trying to attain it because you figured out maybe this really isn't what you wanted or hitting the goal serves no major purpose.

 

Tony Robbins has a really simple way of looking at human nature and his systems/methodologies have helped me out in many areas of life. He identifies 6 human needs that motivate people to do what they do on a daily basis:

 

1. Certainty/Comfort. We all want comfort. And much of this comfort comes from certainty. Of course there is no ABSOLUTE certainty, but we want certainty that there will be hot water in the morning, that you will have a job tomorrow or their will be food on the table.

 

2. Variety. At the same time, we also crave variety. Paradoxically, there needs to be enough UNcertainty to provide spice and adventure in our lives. Some of you may need this more than others but we've all heard that phrase "change is good."

 

3. Significance. Deep down, everyone wants to be important. We want our lives to matter in some way, shape, or form.

 

4. Connection/Love. It's very hard to argue against the need for love. We all need to care and be cared for and want to experience some deep connection in many ways.

 

5. Growth. Who wants to stay in the same spot all the time? To get better, to hone our skills, to reach and excel may be more evident in some than others, but it's there. Some may be happy where they are but is there really no need for growth or is there fear of it?

 

6. Contribution. The desire to contribute beyond yourself, to give back, to help others, to make the world a better place than we found it is somehow in all of us.

 

So what motivates you? Do you need certainty that your clothes will fit? that your weight won't go up? that you will always be in shape? Do you need variety from your old or current fitness routine? Are you looking to drop weight to look better in order to feel more significant around peers or a spouse, family member, etc.? Are you worried that you won't be able to care for/love others without good health long term? or maybe you're not receiving enough love/connection in your current relationships? Do you just yearn to learn more/grow and get better, fitter, faster, and stronger everyday? or maybe you need to maintain your health in order to contribute to society and help others?

 

Personally, it really took me some time to figure out that I'm driven by significance andcontribution. I've had some bumps in the road and I expect more. Speaking of bumps...my father used to tell me "know what you want/where you want to go or you will get bounced around like a pinball." LOL I know he was a metaphor genius. But in other words, you're ultimately responsible for your success unless you want someone else to dictate your path. I now know for sure (well....90% of the time :)) that feeling significant and knowing that what I do matters and working for a worthy cause while growing through obtaining more knowledge and wisdom that allows me to contribute by solving people's health/fitness challenges in a constantly varied environment is my driving force.

 

With that said, I challenge you to figure out your why's/needs. Really sit down and think......in what order would you rank your human needs above? It might take a little while but I guarantee it will help in many areas of your life.....it helped me that's for sure....it will help you understand your personal motivations and conclude which ones are most important to you. It will also help you analyze what you do to fulfill the needs of others. At the end of the day it should make a difference in what and how you do things.

 

Some needs might require work or more time/development because maybe wherever you are in life that need is not being fulfilled at the moment. And some areas might need to be scaled back because you're just devoting too much energy to it without any regard for balance....seriously take some time and start working your way through the list above and think about how each one of those needs ranks in your world and what you might need to change or do in order to meet them. It doesn't matter whether it's for your life, career, relationships, fitness, health, etc.....everyone has a need/drive in some way shape or form so take action on this right now because "the road to someday leads to a town called nowhere."

 

Have an awesome day!

 

 Ray Cattaneo

NASM-CPT, CES