Necessity fuels success. When you understand its role, increase your sense of “need,” and apply it to accomplishing your goals, you unleash necessity’s power to help you achieve them.
The High Performance Institute, founded by Brendon Burchard, conducted a three-year, large-scale study of over two million people across 195 countries to identify the habits of high performers. Detailed in his book High Performance Habits, the research identified six crucial, deliberate habits—seek clarity, generate energy, raise necessity, increase productivity, develop influence, and demonstrate courage—that drive long-term success, health, and happiness.
Specifically, the study found that high performers have a habit of raising their necessity level—how much they feel they need to do something, which positively impacts their ability to achieve goals.
To raise their necessity level, high performers make it a “must” to take action toward their goals. They also cultivate a strong need to connect their daily work to their core identity, standards of excellence, and sense of service to others.
As a result, they consistently meet or exceed their goals and make strides toward fulfilling their potential. I’m sure you would like to do the same, and you can, if you unleash the power of necessity in your life.
The Power of Necessity
Necessity often breeds a powerful sense of urgency. When something is deemed essential, individuals tend to mobilize resources more efficiently and act decisively and quickly.
I often ask my nonfiction Author Coaching clients who needs their book. When they answer, I ask a follow-up question: “When do they need the book?” The answer is always the same: “They needed it yesterday.”
Knowing readers are waiting to read the book they plan to write, which contains answers, tips, strategies, or solutions, raises the writer’s necessity level. As a result, they begin writing consistently and productively. They write the book faster.
The same happens to writers who enter contests. Suddenly, they have a deadline to meet.
However, the same is true of people who decide to run a marathon. The looming race date and desire to make it across the finish line—and not be last—cause them to lift weights, run longer distances, and eat a healthier diet.
Or consider the case of a college student preparing for a crucial exam—one they must pass to keep their scholarship. The necessity of passing the exam to secure the scholarship for the next year makes focused studying easier. And the high stakes increase the student’s commitment to keeping a dedicated study schedule, something that seemed impossible without necessity.
5 Ways to Make Action Taking Necessary
When you develop the habit of raising your necessity, taking action toward your goals feels like a “must.” Internally, you feel you “have to” act.
So, how do you make action-taking necessary—especially when you’re in the habit of procrastinating? Take the following steps.
First, clarify what you want to achieve and the steps necessary to do so. Your goals might include career ambitions, fitness milestones, or personal development.
Second, establish an internal sense of necessity. To do so, you might employ urgency—the sense that something needs to be done now. For instance, you might set deadlines for your goals or a timeline for accomplishing specific steps that move you toward achievement. Even a daily to-do list can be helpful if you commit to accomplishing its items each day or by a certain date or time.
Third, connect your goals to a sense of purpose. Understand why your goals matter to you. Link them to personal values, future benefits, or a personal mission or cause.
Fourth, seek accountability. Find a mentor, colleague, or friend to help keep you committed and feeling the necessity to take action. Share your goals and check in daily, weekly, or monthly with your “accountability buddy.” Choose this person wisely; you want someone who won’t let you off the hook but, instead, will push you to keep your promises and make progress.
Fifth, monitor your progress. Schedule dates with yourself to assess your progress toward the attainment of your goal. Make adjustments as necessary so you maintain momentum, but don’t continuously give yourself grace. Instead, keep raising the bar on necessity.
Of course, celebrate your milestones along the way. This boosts your motivation. You can even plan celebrations in advance; you must complete a task or step before engaging in the reward.
3 Tools for Cultivating Necessity
Here are a few more tools to help you cultivate necessity.
1. Visualization
Visualize achieving your goal…and failing to do so. Imagine what each scenario feels like and the impact it has on your life. Then, create a vivid mental picture of your success, along with the emotions you feel as you do so. You can imagine taking steps along the way, but your necessity level will rise when you feel the pain of failure and see the benefit of success.
2. Constraints
Create a self-imposed constraint. For example, if you want to start a side hustle—and morph it into a full-time gig in a year’s time—you might limit the overtime hours you currently work for your full-time job. This creates the need to get more done in less time—to be more efficient—so you free up time for your new venture.
3. Connected Values
List your core values. Then link each goal to one or more of your core values, making it more personal and giving it a deeper reason to strive toward it.
For example, if your goal is to advance your career but your core value is community service, consider how your job could help you contribute more effectively to your community. Perhaps a promotion and raise provide the funds to donate to a local charity. Or your new position allows you to serve your community as part of your job.
Connecting the dots between goals and values can bolster your commitment—and necessity.
The Missing Piece to Goal Achievement
Many people do their best to achieve their goals and still fall short. It’s likely they are missing a strong sense of necessity. When you unleash the power of necessity, you transform goals and aspirations into actions and results. Additionally, a strong sense of necessity compels you to overcome obstacles—perceived or real—and achieve your goals.
Plus, embracing necessity as a goal-achievement tool and strategy ignites your tenacity, commitment, creativity, and resilience. When you feel the need to do something…now, not later, you find a way. Challenges become opportunities to push beyond your limits or comfort zone.
Do you employ necessity when striving to reach your goals? Tell me in a comment below. And please share this post with those who may benefit from reading it.
Image courtesy Walk For Peace.
