Telling someone to “do your best” is a great way to motivate them, right? Most of us have said or heard this expression countless times. It’s always meant well —Do your best is supposed to inspire you without putting too much pressure. It is supposed to bring out the best in you. Only IT DOES NOT. It is a horrible motivator.
It’s primarily because “do your best” is very, very vague. What is your best, exactly?
The reality is we don’t hear “do your best” and think, “I will work on this until I can’t possibly make it better”, on the contrary — do your best typically leads to “I will do it the way I always do” and if that includes lack luster ambitions, well you get the picture.
So what is the alternative? The alternative is to set specific, measurable and difficult goals. Countless studies across the globe have found that goals that spell out exactly what needs to be accomplished, and then setting the bar for achievement high, results in superior performance than goals that are low.
My question to you is…… What are you doing to NOT “do your best”? Rather, what are you doing to “shatter your previous best”?
Cheers to a great week!
