Marginal motivation produces a marginal outcome. (It’s amazing this insight still surprises us).
We also underestimate how the quality of our goals affects our motivation. We fail at New Year’s resolutions because our goals are almost always about marginal stuff, which we pursue with marginal motivation. Instead of aiming at core issues-say, escaping a hateful job-we aim for vague, amorphous targets like “take a class” or “travel more.” A marginal goal begets marginal effort.
– Marshall Goldsmith, Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts–Becoming the Person You Want to Be