I’ve talked earlier in a previous blog about the three levels of desire: 1) things that you believe are “Important,” 2) some that are “Very Important,” 3) and others that are “Most Important.” Motivation is one of the requirements to achieving your desires by driving you to action. Is it possible that some of you will never attain your desires because you are stuck in the “Very important” level of desire and not motivated enough to move it to “Most important”? Once you find the motivation to move it to “Most important,” you are now committing yourself to action and a higher level of accountability. For many people, that is going to be uncomfortable and might be the thing that drives you back to the “Very important” level, which is safe because it requires no action on your part.

Many of you will never allow yourselves to use the word “Most Important” when thinking about your desires because you are afraid of the potential for failure, rejection, embarrassment or humiliation. Using the word “Most Important” fully commits you to your goal and makes you feel accountable. You might even tell other people about your desire, which now makes you feel even more accountable because if you do not achieve your goal, others will know about it and that might leave you embarrassed. That is the exact thing that
motivates me – I do share my desires with my family and friends because I like to be held accountable – it is what drives me. It is the very thing that makes me as successful as I have been. So, the question is; do the words “Most Important” motivate you to action or to inaction? Do you intentionally avoid accountability and wonder why your life is not extraordinary?

In 2007, there was a movie produced titled The Bucket List (starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) about a couple of guys who were terminally ill and made a list of all the things they wanted to do before they died. It is a great movie about living life to its fullest and in the process, doing a lot of self-discovery. These two guys were motivated by their impending deaths to achieve some of their greatest desires (they had nothing to lose or fear). Wouldn’t it be great if we were motivated to achieve our greatest desires and seek to live an extraordinary life without a motivator that is as definitive as death? Life is not a practice round – live life to its fullest today!

All of this and more is in my newest book titled: Simple Steps to an Extraordinary Career & life, which is available at my store.

Brad Worthley is an accomplished consultant and behavior change specialist with over 37 years of service culture, personal development and leadership development experience. Share: