Why Milestones are Perfect Motivators…

Last week was my 50th episode of this series. That was a huge milestone. And in this lesson, I want to share with you how you can use various milestones in your life as motivators. First off, what is a milestone? Not only do I clarify that question but I then highlight the various ways those milestones can serve as incentives to achieve your goals and dreams. It’s a shorter lesson that usual, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable. Once you’ve heard this lesson, please comment with the milestones you’ve chosen to identify in your life to get you to move forward. I’m very curious to know. Lastly, I’m grateful you’ve taken the time to hear what I have to say. May the knowledge I’ve shared serve you well.

SELECTED LINKS FROM EPISODE:

-Roxy Striar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roxystriar/?hl=en

-Scientific Way to Combat Procrastination Lesson: https://philsvitek.com/scientific-way-to-combat-procrastination/

-A Very LA Birthday Short Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9SHJaepE0c

-Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philsvitek

-Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/phil-svitek—360-creative-coach/

-Adorama Affiliate Link: https://www.adorama.com/?utm_source=rflaid914115  

Available Platforms to Watch/Listen to Show:

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Transcript:

Greetings! I am Phil Svitek and my aim is to help creatives, like you, master mental fortitude because it takes way more than just talent and luck to succeed in the entertainment industry.

With this lesson, we’ll examine why milestones are the perfect motivators for change, growth or accomplishment.

Before I begin, allow me to invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already done so. Doing so will alert you of new lessons that I post. Thank you if you just subscribed.

Alright, let’s dig in. First off, what is a milestone? In this instance I’m using milestone to mean an event of significance. Milestones can refer to important birthdays like your sweet sixteen, or turning 21, maybe your 30th. Aw, who am I kidding, any birthday is a milestone in a person’s life. Heck, my friend Roxy Striar celebrates her half birthday. I’m not kidding.

PS: I’m not judging her. I actually think that’s amazing that she takes the time to celebrate her life’s progress every six months.

But milestones can also be events such as New Year’s, your graduation, a reunion, a sporting event you’re part-taking in, a wedding, an anniversary, a big festival like Coachella. It could be the 4th of July, Father’s Day or Mother’s Day. Perhaps even the deadline for your creative work, such as the date that your publisher needs your rough draft.

Pretty much anything can be a milestone, so long as it holds importance for you. A few months ago, a milestone for me was an Emerson College Men’s Soccer alumni event. It’d been a number of years since I last saw my teammates, certainly all in one place, and so it was a major moment in my life. We were not only meeting up but we were going to get to play against the current roster. Knowing that motivated me to really get in shape, practice my footwork and passing as well as reflect on my successes since my college days while thinking of ways I could inspire the upcoming graduates to achieve the same. That’s when it hit me how a milestone can act as a great catalyst for action. Thinking about that weekend got me in gear.

I encourage you to do the same. When you have something to look forward to it excites you to keep moving forward and make progress. Those milestones set us off an a so-called journey. Sometimes small and other times large.

The reason any upcoming milestones motivate us is because we feel a sense of responsibility, whether to ourselves or others. That’s a good thing. Being accountable is a great way to get things done and something I’ve talked about before in my lesson about scientifically beating procrastination. And because I’ve talked about it before, I won’t get into those notions right now. But you’re free to check out that lesson for yourself. The link is down below.

The point being that when you commit to something, you feel the weight of that obligation. But that only works if you are able to identify upcoming milestones in your life and furthermore, choose goals based on those milestones. What do you want to accomplish before that milestone? If you’re running the Boston Marathon, you should probably be in shape beforehand. How do you do that? Well, start by running at least once every two days. Initially it might be only for 20 minutes but then build.

Another example, this one more geared towards creatives, is a film festival deadline. If you’re a filmmaker, knowing when you need to finish your film so you can submit it for competition in a festival such as Sundance or Cannes is a fantastic motivator.

I’m sure you can think of others, and in fact, I want you to think of others. Identify milestones in your life and how they can work to your advantage by being the incentive you need to jumpstart action. Ask yourself what do you want to accomplish with these milestones. And then go after it!

That’s the key. You can’t forget that milestones are the perfect motivators only when you see them as such AND put in the work. Both parts are important and they don’t work without each other.

And I’ll give you a secret. Remember how I said anything can be a milestone so long as it’s important to you. Well, you can view each new day as a milestone. What do you want to have achieved by the end of it? Be a little unrealistic, because we’re capable of more than we think, but don’t overwhelm yourself either. I know, it can be a very fine line and one that I myself am still trying to figure out sometimes. In fact, more often than not. But even when I don’t always succeed, the daily milestones incentivize me and propel me forward. So at the end of each day, I’ve made headway. I advanced. I may not always have gotten to where I wanted to be, but it’s not a failure because I’m no longer where I used to be. So really consider that and don’t be so hard on yourself. Each milestone is meant to inspire us and allow us to take action, but at no point should you use it as a tool to beat yourself up if ever you fall short of those initial goals.

Lastly, anytime a milestone you’ve been working towards passes, choose another. Continue the cycle indefinitely. Let each milestone that passes build the momentum you’re seeking in your life.

So there you have it. A short lesson but an important lesson. A lesson that can yield incredible results when applied to your life and so I hope you truly do use milestones as motivators in your life. If you have any questions and better yet, want to name some milestones in your life that you’re going to use to motivate you, please share in the comment section or on social media and just tag @PhilSvitek so I know about it.

Well, that’s a wrap for this lesson. Free free to click over to any of the numerous lessons I’ve created just for you. You can access them as well as other free resources on my website at philsvitek.com. Lastly, a huge thank you to the people that helped make this episode financially possible. If you too would like to support this show, you can either head on over to my Patreon or sport some merch from my store. Links are down below. Or you can just tell a friend about this show, which will help pass on my knowledge to them as well and we can build a great community of like-minded creatives. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to tune in. I’m @PhilSvitek on social media and I’ll see you next Wednesday with another lesson. Bye!