Everyone knows the old saying: “for fun and profit“.

To many people, this is the objective to aim for in all things, whether the activity is hobby, work or family-related. Being able to do something that they enjoy and make some money while doing it, maybe even earn a decent living from its practice, is as sweet an endeavour as they can wish for.

But profit is a shallow concept, and often bound by one’s personal values. Fun is no better, for while it may be a more profound notion, it is hardly an all-encompassing purpose. Sure, fun is a strong incentive when profit is no longer an option, but when the pleasure of doing something is eroded away by the grind of repetitiveness, or by the weight of failure, why would someone want to keep doing it?

The easy answer is simply to stop. If something is no longer fun, don’t do it anymore. Right?

Obviously, this isn’t always possible, especially when it comes to work or family. Responsibilities and obligations will pile up, and whether we like it or not, whether it is fun or not, we still have to go through the motion and do what is necessary. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”, as they say. There’s no way around it. But when it comes to something like a hobby, the reasoning becomes a lot simpler, and the consequences of stopping a certain activity, a lot less significant.

And yet, despite it all, we often find ourselves persevering despite the aches and the annoyances. We keep at it, because we understand, consciously or not, that fun is relative. That it is rarely a motivation in itself, or an objective to realize. We understand that fun is the by-product of deeper incentives and that fun will be had, as long as we are committed to the motivations that drove us to do something in the first place.

Motivation and goals

By definition, motivation is the desire to do something. It is closely intertwined with the goals we set for ourselves; being as much an integral aspect of them, as a psychological device we use to achieve them. Back in the days when I worked as a personal trainer, one of the first things I told my clients was that their level of motivation would be at the heart of their success. I presented to them the following formula:

(Training+Eating+Resting) x Motivation = Success

…and made sure that they understood that no matter how disciplined they were and no matter the quality of their training, that they wouldn’t be able to achieve anything meaningful unless they were sufficiently motivated to succeed and that, ironically enough, their first step on their path to success wasn’t to achieve a proper state of motivation, but simply to set up goals.

Because without one, we cannot have the other.

For most people, the main reason for playing games is simply to have fun… which isn’t exactly correct, since fun is really just an enjoyable side-effect of achieving a specific goal. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short-term goal or a one-night only kind of goal – a goal is a goal. But when someone is playing casually, why bother with the semantics? Playing for fun is good enough. No reason to get convoluted about it. But if a person aims to be competitive, and wants to achieve something significant through the practice of a particular game, then fun is not specific enough.

For Magic players with a competitive mindset, setting up goals is the key to success. Not only do these goals provide anchors for their driving motivations, it also guides their work and efforts in a constructive and meaningful fashion.

Goals should be established for both the short and the long-term. Long-term goals often refer to the ‘big picture’, and are usually more about the fulfilment of an idea than about the completion of a specific task. Short-term goals on the other hand, exist to support the long-term goals. Achieving such objectives require time and a certain level of excellence, and short-term goals should be all about preparing the player, directing his energies, and limiting the amount of trivialness.

When setting up objectives, both for the short and the long-term, a player should strive for relevance, specificity and – more importantly – feasibility. Many people will advise others to think big, aim high and seek out the most insane and outrageous end result. This is often a mistake. The sky might be the limit, but floating on clouds is a sure way for someone to break his neck once he inevitably falls down. High level, long-term goals should be notable and singular, something grand to aspire to, but they should also be stated with a certain level of realism, and with an introspective mindset. Not to say that long-term objectives should be easy and established within a person’s comfort zone, but if a player is aiming for something for which he doesn’t have the required skills, then one of the first task for him to complete should be to acquire them – and if that proves to be impossible, then the player should consider other options and possibly new goals.

Staying on top of your objectives, understanding that goals are dynamic concepts which will change and evolve over time, is as important as the act of establishing goals in the first place. Being goal-oriented is not about being obtuse or narrow-minded; it’s about being smart, clear-headed and flexible.

To recap:

• Fun shouldn’t be a goal for a competitive player. If you love and enjoy what you do, then you’ll have fun, don’t worry about it.
• Establish both short and long-term goals; they are the key to your success.
• Long-term goals should be significant.
• Short-term goals should help focus your efforts in achieving your long-term objectives.
• Think big, but be realistic and honest about it.

Next time: Once your goals are set, how do you build motivation?

That’s it for now. See you ‘round kids and coots!