If you’re a regular reader to this Blog it won’t come as any surprise to you that ‘my girls’ (my wife Cassie and my two daughters, Charlotte and Sophie) are one of the key motivators in my life.  The push me forward both personally, professionally and financially.  Whilst I have a number of ‘Raison d’être’  I’d say that my family are the key ‘driving force’ in my life.  The other’s include my thirst for knowledge, the thrill I get visiting new places in the world and the pride I feel from a job well done.

One of my other ‘driving forces’ is the satisfaction I get from meeting new people.  It’s always interesting to hear fresh (and sometimes not so fresh) perspectives, listen to other people stories and sometimes just ‘chew the fat’.

What I’ve found from meeting new people is that there tends to be one clear difference between an individuals ‘driving forces’.  Some are short term and some are long term.  Most of us are really good at identifying our short term ‘driving forces’.  They may include “Have enough money to pay the bills month to month”, “Affording this years holiday” or “I want to keep a roof over my head”.  They may also include “I want a new handbag” or “I want a new TV” or “I want some nice Christmas presents for my children this year”.

However I often find that although we tend to be pretty good at identifying our short term motivations there are people are not particularly clear on is their longer term driving forces.  They may approach us knowing they need to take action to secure their longer term financial futures but sometimes they haven’t considered the motivations behind what they are trying to achieve.

I’ve heard a wide range of longer term ‘driving forces’ from my clients over the years.  Including:-

“I want more spend more quality time with my Grandchildren”

“My dream holiday would be to Canoe down the Amazon.  That’s the first thing I’m going to do when I retire….and then I want to do a similar trip every year”

“I’ve been lucky in life and I’d love to do more charity work in the future.  I’d absolutely love doing that!”

all the way to:-

“I love entomology, and if I didn’t need to worry about ‘paying the bills’ I could spend weeks on end studying my insects.”

“I’m into model trains and If I could spend all day playing with my train set I would!”

We all have longer term driving forces.  Some stranger than others.  Some more important than others and some more obvious than others.  However the longer term driving forces tend to be less established, less clear in our minds, more vague than our shorter term goals.

I’ve found that the longer term driving forces are more unique, more positive and can have a greater longer term change to your life.

I’ve also personally found that more clarity I provide to my longer term ‘driving forces’ the more motivated I am, the more I achieve and the closer I get to the life I want.

So, I’d humbly suggest you spend some time thinking more about your longer term goals.  It may provide you with a new insight into how you want your life to be in the future, enhance your motivation levels and take action to ensure you move closer to the life you dream of.

As ever I’m interested in your thoughts.  What are your longer term ‘driving forces’?  Do you find that your longer term plans are more exciting than your shorter term goals?  How do you define your longer term goals?  Do you work with a financial planner or coach to define these goals?  I look forward to hearing from you…