The Enthusiasm Formula

February 28th, 2009

Enthusiasm can play a make or break role in success. It acts as a multiplier of your chances: the higher your interest in a goal, the better your odds of achieving it. In my own pursuit of personal development I have noticed a distinct correlation to support this: Failure rates have been much higher in projects I begrudgingly undertake than in projects I wholeheartedly tackle. This inspired me to research enthusiasm’s contributing factors so I could steer it in productive directions. It turns out the unchanging foundation of enthusiasm is quite simple.

I found many long lists of suggestions on how to increase enthusiasm but none outlined things in a universally adaptable way. I realized the suggestions could be boiled down to two main groups: desire and detractions.

Enthusiasm = Desire - Detractions

Desire: How bad you want it.

Detractions: What stands in the way or diminishes your desire.

While we cannot affect enthusiasm directly, playing with these individual factors allows you to control it indirectly.

Controlling the Factors

Desire: There are a number of strategies to increase desire. Most involve a form of visualization or reminder. You can create a vision board, discuss your goal with friends, or collaborate with likeminded people to name a few. One seldom mentioned strategy I personally favour is to remove other distractions to sharpen your focus on the goal.

Detractions: The other route is to remove the negative factors that discourage your progress. This can be ridding yourself of naysayers, removing obstacles between you and your goal, or disallowing negative thoughts.

A note about delusion: When reducing detracting factors, you walk a thin line. As your enthusiasm increases it’s easily to ignore legitimate negative factors and become delusional about your prospects. It’s appropriate to consider that perhaps the naysayers are right. The idea is not to ignore the negative factors, but rather to manage and disable them.

Recommended reading: A list of suggestions I particularly like for its succinctness and range can be found here. It provides ideas in both the desire and detraction categories.

Scenarios

As you increase desire and reduce detractions, you will approach optimal enthusiasm. However, chances are at some point new negative factors will arise or your desire will dwindle.

What then?

You can refocus and attempt to work the formula again. Hopefully your desire will be strong enough to enable this.

Or…

You can just suck it up. All the enthusiasm in the world won’t help if you don’t surrender yourself to the possibility your goal and yourself are worthwhile. Believe it and go for it.

A note about empathy: There will be times when you need to build enthusiasm about a goal or project that isn’t your own. Perhaps a family member or significant other wants you to engage yourself in one of their initiatives with the same zest they do. This is where empathy comes in. Before attempting to reconcile your desires with theirs, attempt to see the goal from their eyes. This emotional understanding is an unparalleled opportunity to gain someone’s trust and respect, which they will repay in turn.

The Formula Works, and So Should You

As with anything in life, you have to work to get enthusiasm. It won’t just show up at your doorstep. Follow the formula, work on reducing detractions and work on increasing desire. When all else fails, just suck it up and keep working. Enthusiasm is a multiplier of success, but it cannot create success on its own. So get working!