There are times when you complete a particular task in absolutely no time. Then there are times when no matter how much you put your mind to it, you are not able to complete it. Why is that so?

It solely depends on one factor; motivation. When you have the motivation to do something, you would naturally be focused and determined to complete it. Whereas, when you are lacking motivation, you won’t be able to complete it simply because your heart isn’t at it.

Motivation and the Goldilocks Rule:

Motivation comes from the word ‘motive’ which means something which drives people to action. There is no one set of rules to get yourself motivated to do something. It varies with people, depends on the way they think, their preferences, their inclinations and what they want from life, etc.

According to The Goldilocks Rule, people’s motivation is at its zenith when they are doing tasks that are in alignment with their abilities. According to many findings, the best way to accomplish peak levels of motivation is to work on things that are of manageable difficulty.

What is Manageable Difficulty?

When people don’t feel challenged at work, they lose motivation quite easily. Our brains love challenges. The manageable difficulty is those challenges that are in ideal zone difficulty. For example, when you are assigned with an extremely difficult dissertation proposal at university, you would not even attempt to try it because you know it does not lie in your range of difficulty, it is way too hard. You would simply just order a dissertation proposal or make someone else write it, which is completely fair.

On the other hand, imagine you are assigned with something relatively less difficult. You would feel like this is a challenge you can overcome, you might require a little help with dissertation writing but you would at least attempt it. Your brain would feel accomplished after you do so,

The Goldilocks Rule; How to Stay Motivated In Life and Business:

The Goldilocks principle could be applied to life and business to stay motivated and produce quality results. There are many ways to incorporate Goldilocks principle in life:

1. Not Too Hard, Not Too Easy!

Always keep the difficulty level of your tasks and goals manageable. If you start your business with a checklist of very tough tasks in your hand then there might be a possibility that you would get nothing done. Work on tasks that are on the edge of your abilities. When you do so, you will start achieving things slowly and even if you do not achieve something grand, it will still drive you to do more. Apart from that, small achievements make you feel happy because you have set realistic tasks which are in your optimal range.

The amalgam of happiness and peak performance is called flow. Flow is known as a mental state when one is so focused on what they are doing, that everything else fades away, all the distractions get out of sight. It is a state of peak motivation

2. Why Do You Want To Accomplish This Goal??

Every human action is carried out to achieve a certain goal. You start dieting because you want to lose weight. You study hard to get good grades. Again, you put in efforts because you want to get some desired result. You should do the same with your plans, you should list the reasons why you want to do what you are doing. It is always better to write it down physically as it helps your brain better.

3. Imagine Your Success!!

Visualizing your victory is an interesting way to maintain your motivation. When you envision what your success would look like, how great it will be, it acts as an incentive. Hence, you work harder to achieve that.

4. Be There For Yourself!

When we complete a task or achieve something, our brain releases dopamine. It helps you focus and enhance your concentration. Every time you reach a milestone you should reward yourself. It helps you stay motivated and ease your stress level. However, do not indulge in giving yourself too many rewards that it starts affecting the track of your performance.

5. Keep Reminding Yourself of Your Goals:

It is more than often that when someone starts a business, several setbacks will come their way. What makes a difference is, keeping yourself motivated and reminding yourself of the greatness you are pursuing. Go back and look at the list of why you are doing this? Keep in check with your goals and aspirations, do not let one drawback define you.

Final Thoughts

It is very simple to apply the Goldilocks rule to businesses and life in general, what is hard is to stay consistent and keep up with your goals. So be wary of that.