How many times has it happened that you have set a goal for yourself but never achieved it? Mainly because you either loss the motivation midway or realise that goal was tough to keep up with. New year resolutions are a perfect example of such goals. Where people embark their journey with full force but end up giving in half way through.
That is why it’s important to understand how goal setting works before we set up one for ourselves. What makes goal an effective one and how to set goals that keeps us motivated throughout our journey.
What are effective goals
Ones that inculcate values
Effective goals are the ones which are aligned with your values. Goals guide us to understand our core values. Whether it’s a goal to quit smoking or to buy a home, we are more likely to achieve them when they reflect our core life principles. How we want to live our life is guided by our values. Values are like directions that keep us headed on the right track, and goals are specific ways to execute our values. Buying a home is a goal but being responsible is a value.
Do reality check
Goal setting calls for a reality check. Yes, you want to lose weight but when you lay down a practical execution plan, you will have to take in all the relevant and deciding factors. Any diet or workout plan is not going to work unless it’s aligned with your daily schedule, other commitments and nutritional requirements. That’s why lots of people given in midway in their weightloss journey.
Goals assist in choosing actions that are in line with our potential and weakness. Thus to have realistic expectations from ourselves.
Give meaningful insights
Goals play a key role in self evaluation. Successful completion of goals requires self introspection. What skills and competence do I need to meet my goal and do I have it? And what steps do I need to take to overcome my limitations and build up required skill set? Thus every step that we take towards our goals boost our self-confidence and resilience.
Give courage
What can be a better motivator than a well defined goal? Goals carves a path from your dream to destination. They give a definite shape to your dreams, something that you can clearly see ahead. And the more closer you are to your destination the more motivated you feel. And that keeps you going.
Empower us
Every goal whether it’s short-term or long-term, fosters a growth mindset. And every succeeded goal, fills you with self-confidence. And the journey to achieve your goals comes up with numerous challenges and overcoming those is a sign of empowerment. Goals keeps us aspiring higher and expand our abilities.
Key principles of goal setting
Dr. Edwin. A. Locke published the goal-setting theory of motivation in 1968 based on his goal-setting research. And the foundations of Locke’s goal-setting theory of motivation are the five principles—clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and complexity.
Clarity
An ambiguous goal has weak motivational value. Unless you are not clear about what you want and why you want; you can not craft a path towards your destination. When your goal is clear in your mind you know what exactly you need. Which improved the understanding of task in hand and results in success, which further motivates you.
Challenge
Goal should be challenging yet achievable. Challenging goals improves performance and overall self-satisfaction. They motivate you for upskilling and enhance your problem solving abilities. But at the same time if the goal is unattainable it leads to feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction. When a goal that is challenging yet within our abilities we are more motivated to achieve it. However, if the goal is easier, we usually put in half hearted efforts and are weakly motivated to achieve it.
Commitment
Commitment is the degree to which you are attached to your goal and your determination to achieve it. Goal performance is strongest when people are committed to their goal even if it’s challenging. Once you are committed you would keep a keen watch on your performance. And would increase your efforts or change your strategy every time you fall behind. Individual who are committed are highly motivated.
Feedback
Goal setting is more effective with a constructive feedback, whether internal or external. When performance falls below the required standard, feedback help us to reflect upon our abilities. Thus motivating us to either work on performance improvement or setting up new attainable goals. Feedbacks ensures that actions are taken. They improve our capabilities to achieve more challenging goals in future.
Complexity
Overly complex goals are overwhelming and impact moral negatively. Even the most motivated of people can become unmoved if the task’s complexity is too much for their skills. Apart from complexity, timeline for goals should also be realistic. Allowing sufficient time to work toward a goal allows opportunities to reassess the goal complexity.
How goal setting works on brain
Dopamine effect
When we get something that we want the brain releases dopamine. The feel good hormone! There is a spike in dopamine release everytime you accomplish a task. That’s how people are benefited from their to-do list. Every single tick links to dopamine reward. And every time your brain gives you this reward, you want to repeat that particular behaviour. Thats is why breaking a bigger goal into smaller ones works as the feel-good trick. Reward received from accomplishing smaller goals keeps you moving towards the bigger one.
Neuroplasticity
Things won’t always go as planned and that’s why we need to adapt and change to meet our goals. And neuroplasticity is the ability of brain to rewire itself in response to different experience. When we engage in activities related to our goal the neural pathways associated with that activity becomes more robust. It also means brain is forming new neural connection in response to our goals and strengthening the existing ones. Our goals and their challenges act as stimulators that encourage our brain to adapt and change.
Emotional-regulation
To achieve goals, it is crucial that you do not let your emotions dominate you. An individual should learn to regulate their emotion while striving their goals. Our goals not only enhance our productivity but also keep our emotions in check. Because a goal focussed individual is practical, logical and emotionally intelligent.
Enhanced Focus
When we have a specific objective in mind, we are automatically focused on the actions needed to attain it. Our focus enables us to concentrate on the task at hand, discarding distractions and improve our productivity. Furthermore, goals gives us a purpose. And this sense of purpose also enhance our concentration by removing mental clutter.
When we align goals with our character strength and core values, we have better chance to achieve them.
"Your goals are the roadmaps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life" - Les Brown