[Orecle]

I agree with parts, of what you are saying, but I strongly disagree with your main assertion, that people dont complete things because they didnt really want it in the 1st place. I prefer the NLP supposition that 'parts' of you might not want the goal for various reasons.

So to use your junkie analogy, a Junkie may want to quit, but the gain could be the pleasurable feelings the drugs give, espiecally with marajuana. But to say the person totally doesnt want to quit is false. Many people have an internal struggle for years about addiction, being overweight, pursueing the carreer of their dreams! they want to but other parts feel they cant. "I want to ask out that woman, go for that job,start that business - but I feel like I cant, - I may be rejected, i may lose my time!!!!

But to say the reason people quit tasks and goals is because they didnt want it, I can tell you for a fact, is not the sole reason.

Reasons people quit

- Laziness

- Didnt realise what the goal required in time, effort, money. Doesnt mean they didnt want it. Just means they might not want it enough to sacrifice

- Other more desirable or pressing commitments

- fears of all sorts. Fear they may fail, be rejected, unknown of what comes next, might not be able to handle consequences

- They may feel they dont deserve it, or that others deserve it more

- Also a lot of people dont know how to get something, espiecally if it is a complex competitive situations. Steve did an article on passion in which he goes on to talk about how passion is overrated, and I firmly agree. You see this in sports. I live in London, and before Ricky Hatton fought Mayweather, the press went on about how passionate Ricky Hatton was, and how is humble and alot more hungry than Mayweather who is arrogant and cocky. The result - A cocky Mayweather completely outclassed passionate Rick.
The press did the same when he fought Pacman who went on to devestate Rick.

The list goes on. I dont deny that 'not wanting it in the 1st place' could be an issue for every one. But desire is just one of the many components of success. Self limiting beleifs is another major factor that kills goals and task completion, and the worst thing is that it runs unconsciously like a virus, without your knowing, even with goals that are desirable. Sometimes you can be up all night thinking about the goal, but lose the will to act because you feel a fear you cant quite define.

I agree, its not every goal you have to complete. But from personal experience, its very important to distinguish between lack of desire and fear of failure. Its very easy to quit a fat loss program and say I was doing it for ......, but most people dont quit because of that. Most quit because losing stones of fat is very hard. It requires doing uncomfortable exercise and it requires STOPPING eating pleasurable food (a massive secondary gain for the masses)

You can get to the point where you run away from so many goals, that down the line, you look back 5 - 10 years or longer and cannot identify 1 tangible acheivement (I am talking from personal experience)

The amount of people, who have told me they regret quitting education, because they thought, they didnt want it 5 years ago is in the 100s, and now they are stuck, miserable in a dead end job, with no end in sight.

STICK-to-It-ness is major success trait, butI do agree we should always check our motives and desire

Brian Tracy defines discipline as ' getting yourself to do, what you should do, whether you feel like it or not' The thing about life, low hanging fruit might be easy, but the high hanging difficult fruit that is extremely hard to get will leave you feeling desire and pain. Character is pressing forward, even wen everything in you wants to quit, and your mind starts dangling easy fruit in your face, and your desire to stay in the comfort zone starts