Benchmarking: The Carrot on a Stick and Feedback that I am inching closer and closer

Reflecting on one of my primary motivators, I realize I need benchmarks, a kind of baseline to indicate where I currently am, along with a carrot on a stick, a goal not to far off from where I am but indicating where I would like to go. I also need a lot of feedback to indicate that what I am doing is getting me closer to where I want to go, a kind of compass indicating I'm on the desired path.