Two Underestimated Sources of Motivation to Ignite Your Absolute Best Effort
Yesterday, I had a revealing conversation with my book publisher, Jake, who began with the simple question, “When can you send us your finished manuscript?”
I replied, “I can send it to you right now. I’ve been editing the final draft this past week and this book is in great shape. I break into smiles of joy as I read it.”
Jake continued, “I will submit this final draft to an editor who is just going to clean up typos and grammatical errors. From now on, none of your sentences or chapter titles will change. No more moving paragraphs around. Consider this the finished product as far as your writing.”
When I realized this was my “last shot” to improve my book, Demolish Your Comfort Zones, I had second thoughts about whether I’d given my absolute best effort. I realized that if I focus my attention on polishing up this supposedly finished product, I’ll find room for improvement. I decided to raise the bar on my performance of final revisions to the manuscript.
Two Essential Qualities That Accompany Absolute Best Efforts
There is an interlocking set of essential qualities you can bring to any performance when you are committed to making your absolute best effort:
- Identity: a compelling role that reflects an individuals’ declared commitment to produce significant long-term results.
- Intention: focusing attention on the quality of performance to produce a desired impact during the immediate moments of performing a vital task.
The cumulative effect of choosing to engage your best combination of identity and intentions is the initial trigger to guide your peak performance when it counts. For example, my three identities as a writer are–son of an English teacher + Comfort Zone Demolition Expert + transformational writer. I will embrace these roles when I initiate my last round of edits in my book.
When I’m writing, my intentions vary from moment to moment. I could be writing attention-grabbing openings to chapters, dreaming up dramatic dialogue, and organizing the flow of ideas in a chapter.
When my publisher invited me to seize the last opportunity to improve my manuscript, I realized I still had room to express my absolute best effort as a transformational writer. After two years of writing and refining my book copy, I was intrigued by the opportunity to improve the quality of my readers’ experience and their ability to adopt the unique practices described in my book.
An Emerging Opportunity for You to Seize
I invite you to consider an emerging opportunity very few people recognize. What are the identities and intentions that will trigger your absolute best effort when you perform high-priority activities? For example, you could focus on:
- Your identity as an elite exerciser who intends to do deadlifts with perfect form to prevent injuries and get maximum results for your strength and appearance.
- Your identity as an All-American husband/wife who intends to listen carefully to each word in significant conversations with your spouse since this will be the one and only time you’ll ever have this conversation.
- Your identity as a game-changing entrepreneur who intends to orchestrate conversations with your team to spark their ability to conceive innovative products and services.
- Your identity as a developmental leader who intends to have his/her team raise their existing skill proficiency and develop new abilities.
Notice the harmonious connection between the identity you declare long-term and your moment-by-moment intentions in performing a vital task. Are you getting a sense of the potential impact on performance when you focus on creating a powerful synergy between your identity + intentions?
Ruthlessly Honest Question
What are vital tasks that you’ve been getting done with decent effort but not your absolute best effort? Pause for a few minutes to make a list.
Your Heroic Experiment for This Month
- What is the identity you will adopt to reignite the kind of effort to take your performance to a new level of excellence?
- What intentions will activate your absolute best effort when you perform vital task?
Right now, begin your vital task with reinvigorated motivation!
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