How to Develop Self-Determination and Stick to Your Goals

Your determination says a lot about you, your life, and the success you want.

Do you know Tiger Woods trained his swings in the middle of the night, in the rain?

And do you also know that Sylvester Stallone was rejected over and over again for the main acting role in Rocky, but eventually, the director was the one who gave in?

Soichiro Honda built a factory, but it was leveled due to the earthquake. But he was determined, and he didn’t give up. He continued to pursue his dream and today, Honda is all over the world.

This is why you want to develop self-determination.

Your determination is the one character that will determine if you are going to achieve the success you want in your life.

Too often, people give up and quit the moment they faced challenges or difficulties in their journey.

I have seen plenty of people started a website or launch an internet business, but whenever they don’t get the results they want within a few days or weeks, they started to lose steam, doubt themselves, and in the end, they give up.

They then start another project, build another website, buy another training course, and with the hope that this time, they will make it.

But guess what, the same thing happens again.

When they don’t get the results they want, they started to lose hope, doubt themselves, and eventually quit on the project they are working on.

And this applies to every area of our lives. I have told myself that I would exercise for the next 30 days, but I didn’t stick to the plan. I felt guilty too.

As you can see, without determination, you won’t stick to your plan and you will give up the moment things become hard.

So, how do you improve your determination and stick to your goals? What can you do to be more determined? Here are a couple of tips…

1. Be crystal clear with your purpose

Always start with your why. This is extremely important. Knowing your purpose and why you do what you do is the key to success.

When you lose your why and when you don’t have a crystal clear purpose, that’s when you will give up when things get tough.

Think about it, why some people are able to push through all the tough times while others choose to give up and quit?

The reason is their why.

When your purpose is strong, emotional, and exciting, you will push through everything.

Have you heard about the story of the 3 bricklayers? When asked, the first bricklayer said he was laying bricks, the second bricklayer said he was building a wall, and the third bricklayer said he was building a cathedral.

The point is that all the 3 bricklayers were doing the same thing – laying bricks. But they all have a different purpose.

The first and the second bricklayer have a weak purpose, but the third bricklayer is different. He saw himself building a cathedral, hence, he has a more exciting and strong purpose.

Imagine if you see yourself waking up every morning and your job is to lay bricks, how boring is that? That’s why most people quit!

But things will be different when your why is strong, emotional, and exciting.

When you see yourself building your dream house by the sea, with beautiful orange trees on the side, a large patio, and you see your kids running and having fun around the house, don’t you think this is more exciting and you’re more willing to wake up and do the work?

In fact, you can’t wait to do the work. You will even look forward to doing it.

That’s the difference between having a weak purpose and a strong one.

If you want to be determined, your why must be strong, emotional, and exciting to you. Not just anyone, but your purpose must be appealing to you.

2. Make it a commitment

The second way to increase your determination is to increase your commitment. In other words, have more skin in the game.

In his best-selling book, Expert Secrets, Russell Brunson shared that when he gave away his coaching and training for free to his friends, none of them become successful.

But when his customers and clients who have to pay to get in, achieved extraordinary results from the same training program.

When you are committed, you will do whatever it takes. But when you are not, you will do only what’s convenient to you.

By the way, the Expert Secrets book is one of the must-read books for everyone who wants to start an online business. I highly recommend the book.

If you want to be determined for your goals, you must be committed. You must make a conscious decision that you will do (or not do) what you mean.

Earlier, I talked about Tiger Woods’ determination, right? Here’s how committed Woods are about becoming the best golfer in the world…

Before Damon Dunn became a professional football player and then founding a real-estate development firm, he attended Stanford University in the mid-90s.

Damon recalled heading to a Stanford fraternity party while he was a student. It was 11 PM, dark, and that night, it rained heavily.

Damon then noticed a lone figure at the driving range, methodically hitting golf balls. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

Four hours later, at 3 AM, Damon left the part for his dorm. Thwack. Thwack. The figure was still there, still hitting golf balls. Damon wandered over.

“Tiger, what are you doing out there hitting balls at 3 AM?”

“It doesn’t rain very often in Northern California,” replied the kid who went on to become one of the most successful golfers in history. “It’s the only chance I have to practice hitting in the rain.”

Read: 7 Easy Ways How to Increase Your Commitment to Success

That’s the kind of commitment I’m talking about. That’s the kind of determination you need to develop to become successful.

You can’t just say you want to become successful and then go and watch Netflix.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, this was what Jim Carrey said:

“Visualization works if you work hard. That’s the thing. You can’t just visualize and go eat a sandwich.”

Jim Carrey

Yes, you can’t just dream about what you want and then go eat a sandwich.

Success doesn’t work that way.

For everything you want to achieve in your life, there is a price you need to pay. What you need to do then is to figure out the price, and then work on paying the price.

So, be committed to the success you want. Have more skin in the game so that you will be more committed.

And when your commitment increases, so with your determination.

3. Align your actions with your goals

If you want to increase your determination, your actions must always align with your goals.

Review your goals every day and make sure what you do every day is getting you toward your goals.

I have seen people talk about building a successful business, but they don’t do anything about it. All they do is talk, but no action.

Again, what you do must be congruent with what you want.

Without congruency, there is no alignment. And when there is no alignment, there will be no results. And that’s the reason people give up because they doubt themselves when they don’t see the results.

And you must always be conscious of your actions.

One of the main reasons people fail at their goals is because they got distracted and forgot about their goals or mission.

Life is busy. There are so many things we want to do. And before we know it, 3 days (or weeks) went by and we have done nothing to reach our goals.

This is why taking proactive actions is important. And here are a couple of ways to help you align your actions with your goals…

• Read related books about what you do. If you want to build an online business, make it a habit to read books about internet marketing and building an online business. This will keep you motivated every day. Check out my recommended success books here.

• Review your goals every day. Plan your action steps every day in the morning before you start your day. This will make sure you include some action steps that are congruent with your goals.

• Practice visualization and positive affirmations. The key is to constantly remind yourself what you want to achieve, and visualization and affirmations are 2 great techniques for this.

Here are some extra resources you should check out…

Vision Boards – The Ultimate Guide to Creating and Living Your Dream Life

5 Simple Rules How To Make Your Affirmations Work

The Importance of Daily Goal Setting and How to Do It Right

4. Focus on one thing at a time

Another great way to improve your determination is through absolute focus. Watch this short video below…

In the video, I shared the “2 lists method” or the 5/25 Goal Strategy from Warren Buffett.

You see, we have so many things we want to achieve in life, but we only got so much time and energy to focus on the things that we want.

Hence, if you want to be determined, the best way is to focus on the most important goal/task and ignore the rest.

For example, you can work on just one project until you achieve it before you begin another. This will make sure you stay determined and stick to your plan until you achieve it.

There is a saying…

“If you chase two rabbits, you will NOT catch either one.”

So, focus on just one project, or task, or goal at a time.

When you try to do too many things all at once, you will find it extremely hard to focus and you don’t have the willpower to decide and carry out all the tasks.

Having one completed project or an achieved goal is more powerful than having ten incomplete goals or projects.

Follow the 90-90-1 Rule from Robin Sharma. This is what the 90-90-1 Rule is all about:

“For the next 90 days, devote the first 90 minutes of your work day to the one best opportunity in your life. Nothing else. Zero distractions. Just get that project done. Period.”

Robin Sharma

Thus, identify your one goal – your most important goal that will change your life if you achieve it. And then for the next 90 days, invest 90 minutes to working on the goal the first thing in the morning.

If you do this, you will surely become determined to achieve the goal.

5. Reward and celebrate your progress

To boost your determination, you must reward yourself and celebrate your progress.

When you reward yourself, like if you give yourself a treat, you will look forward to the reward. This improves your motivation and makes you more determined in doing the work.

For example, I will reward myself with an hour of free time to do whatever I love once I completed my daily tasks. And that drives me to get my work done on time.

I want to get all my daily tasks done so that I can play computer games, I get to read my favorite books, or simply enjoying a cup of my favorite coffee without feeling guilty.

And I’m looking forward to the rewards.

What about you? What do you look forward to being, doing, or having? Make it a part of your reward.

When you know there is a reward waiting for you to claim, you become more determined in getting the work done.

The same goes with celebration. You want to share the good news that you have made real progress with people who care about you.

For example, you can share your progress on social media, not to brag, but to reinforce the good feeling so that you will be more looking forward to producing more progress.

Do you know why athletes shared their victories? Have you heard about the “victory lap”?

Here’s what Wikipedia says about victory lap…

“A victory lap (also lap of honor) is a term used in motorsports to describe an extra lap of the race track after the conclusion of a race. This lap, driven at reduced speed, allows the winning driver to celebrate their victory and gives the spectators an opportunity to congratulate and honor the competitors.”

Yes, run your victory lap.

When a soccer team wins the championship, they were allowed to run a victory lap in the stadium to celebrate with the audience.

That’s what you want to do too.

You want to celebrate your progress and victories.

The more you celebrate your wins, the more wins there are to celebrate.

Celebrating your victories make you feel good. It makes you look forward to sharing more victories with people who support you.

That means it will make you more determined in creating more progress and producing more wins.

13 Ways How to Celebrate Small Victories and Make Progress

How to Reward Yourself for Your Hard Work and Effort

Conclusion

So how do you develop self-determination and stick to your goals and plans? These are the 5 ways:

1. Have a crystal-clear purpose

2. Make it a commitment

3. Align your actions with your goals

4. Focus on one thing at a time

5. Reward and celebrate your wins

Of all the 5 methods above, which one do you like the most? Leave your comment below and let me know.