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Goals are standards that individuals use to evaluate how well they are doing now relative to where they want to end up. Goals basically guide our choices. Once you have a goal, the hard part is figuring out the steps that will get you from point A to point B. The following guide can help you make well-defined and achievable goals. It also provides clues about the various ways that goal achievement fails (Berkman, 2018; Matthews, 2015).
1. Have a very specific goal in mind. Mastering a complex skill (e.g., playing a musical instrument) takes years of dedication through achieving a series of specific goals. Each small success builds confidence and momentum. An important reason for goal failure is poorly defined and ambiguous goals. The more specific the goal, the better you will be able to reach it. A highly abstract goal may not be actionable (e.g., to get healthy or get better at guitar). Specific goals allow for better monitoring of progression toward the goal. Making specific goals (e.g., write 3 pages every day) is more motivating than urging people to do their best.
2. Focus on fewer goals. Having only one goal makes self-discipline more successful than when people have two or more conflicting goals. For example, it makes no sense to decide that one is going to quit smoking and diet at the same time. The power of focused attention lies in its ability to channel our energy effectively toward a specific goal. As Plato counseled: “Do one thing and do it well.”
3. Focus on the incremental steps. An effective strategy for goal setting is to focus on small objectives that are more in your control. As the old saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Focusing on one step at a time reduces your anxiety about achieving the big goal. Smaller, incremental goals give you a greater sense of control, which can increase motivation and could improve your results.
4. Protect your goal. It is important for people to shield their crucial goal from competing goals during goal pursuit. One way to accomplish this is by reminding themselves of its importance, in order to inhibit other goals competing with it.
5. Disengage from impractical goals. Goals should push you while remaining within reach. You want to push hard enough to make progress, but not so much that it is unsustainable. People who disengage from seemingly impossible goals are mentally healthier than those who stay trapped. Dropping the frustrating goals allows one to use one’s limited effort and time more effectively. Achievable goals can help you sustain motivation and stay on track.
6. Intrinsic goals. People who pursue goals for autonomous reasons (personally chosen) have greater intrinsic motivation and are not pressured by outside forces. Decisions that feel autonomous lead to less exhaustion and better self-control than choices that feel forced. For example, people who diet for more personal reasons tend to be more successful at losing weight than people who diet for more external reasons.
7. Willingness to sacrifice. Setting goals is easy, but achieving them is hard. The real challenge is the willingness to accept the sacrifices (the tradeoffs) that come with our goals. Goal setting is not only about choosing the rewards you want to enjoy, but also the costs you are willing to pay. As the saying goes, everyone wants to go heaven, but nobody wants to die. Achieving a new goal takes extreme commitment.
