What is Goal Setting? A psychological definition
Did you know that setting goals has a psychological impact? Yes, you read that right! In psychology, goal setting implies that you dream of a better future. You stay focused on achieving it. The power of goal setting is that it boosts your motivation and self-drivenness.
Imagine going through life without thinking of a desired destination. You would be wandering aimlessly at work and in your personal life. Setting effective goals is crucial for personal growth. But what are effective goals? According to Frank L. Smoll, a Ph.D. and a working psychologist at the University of Washington, says there are three essential parts of successful goal setting. He terms this as the ABC of goal setting:
- A- Achievable
- B- Believable
- C- Committed
What are the benefits of setting goals?
There are many benefits of goal setting. Let us look at the three primary benefits.
- Goal setting gives direction to your life. When you set goals, you are forced to look at the big picture. You choose where you want to be in the future based on your priorities. Setting goals is the first step to achieving success in your life.
- Setting goals is also a strong motivation. When you know where you want to go, you will focus all your efforts to get to the desired destination.
- Setting achievable goals and tracking progress improves self-confidence.
Why should you set goals?
Simple, because without setting goals you will get nowhere. Besides, the power of goal setting lies in how it instantly improves the quality of your life. Even though the goal-setting process is focused on the future, it improves how you live in the present. It adds energy and zeal to your day and a spring to your step.
Create a plan
Of course, goal setting is incomplete without a plan. Ideally, a plan should break the big goals into multiple small goals for specific timeframes. For instance, your ultimate goal is to open a restaurant in 10 years. You will break this into milestones that build up towards it. Like completing a culinary course in two years, interning at a restaurant in three years and more. These milestones should be realistic and help in tracking progress towards the desired outcome.
Create SMART goals
Wondering how to be a pro at goal setting? By setting SMART goals! SMART is an acronym that comes in handy for successful goal setting. It stands for:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-bound
Let us consider “I will get in shape.” Now that is not a SMART goal. Whereas “I will lose 4 pounds in 8 months” is one! Can you see how it fits into all the requirements of a SMART goal?
Set deadlines for each task
As addressed earlier, you will need to break down your ultimate goal into smaller milestones. One of the most important parts of the goal-setting process is tracking progress. Milestones will help you do that. Each of these smaller goals needs to have realistic timeframes. This will help assess if you are on track or if you need to adapt.
Prioritize tasks based on importance and impact
The Pareto Principle or the 80-20 rule states that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of all inputs. The same applies to goal setting as well. There will be some inputs or tasks that contribute majorly to achieving your goals. Identifying those and prioritizing them will go a long way in getting to your desired destination.
Connect your goals to your purpose
Goals need to be meaningful in order to hold shape in the long run. And they should make sense to you. Goal setting is a very personal process. They do not depend on what others want for you, they depend on your purpose.
Explore the resources available to you to help you achieve your goals
Achieving any goal takes effort. And resources. For instance, if you want to open a restaurant, you will need money to learn the skills. In addition, you will also need kitchen equipment to practice cooking. It would also be great to have access to a walk-in pantry but that might not be possible for everyone.
So, look around and explore the resources that you can access.
Allocate resources for achieving your goals
Now you know the resources available to you. It’s time to allocate them towards achieving your goal. Think of these questions:
- How much money can I spend?
- How much time can I give every day?
- What help do I need?
- Should I need to delegate some of my tasks?
How to achieve your goals
Once you have the goals ready, all that’s left is achieving them. Follow these three simple steps:
- Set SMART goals: If you want to unlock the power of goal setting you should set SMART goals.
- Plan: To convert the goals into reality, you need to prepare a solid plan of action. Ensure that your plan has ample buffers to account for unforeseen events.
- Track progress: Check your progress at regular intervals. Weekly progress reports are a great idea. If the plan is not going as expected, you can always adapt.
Set clear milestones to track your progress
Break your ultimate goal into smaller, short-term benchmarks. Assign a realistic time frame to each of the benchmarks. These milestones are short-term goals that will eventually add up to the big goal. Needless to say, these need to be SMART too!
Set challenging and achievable goals
Studies show that people who set ambitious goals tend to be better performers than those who don’t. While setting goals, it is important to challenge yourself. Challenging goals are more stimulating. Humans tend to lose interest when an activity does not stimulate them. Of course, these goals also need to be achievable. You want to be ambitious, not delusional.
Make a plan
Remember the second part of achieving goals? Making a plan! A plan will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. Follow these steps to create a failproof plan:
- Estimate the current reality: Take a long and hard look at where you are right now. What should you do to do to accomplish your goals? Is there a knowledge gap? A skill you need to master?
- Estimate the time: How long will it take for you to accomplish your desired outcome? Make room for buffers here.
- Backward planning: Start from the ultimate goal and work backward. Break it down into specific milestones.
- Set process goals: Process goals are actions that you will perform to achieve your big goal. Determine what will you do every day and for how long. For instance, “Working out for an hour every day, 4 days a week,” is a SMART process goal.
4 steps to successful goal setting
Goal setting is the cornerstone of personal growth and success. How do you set goals that are aligned with your purpose and are challenging yet achievable? Here’s how:
- Reflect! What is your ultimate life goal? This is very different for different people, so answer this honestly. What would you call an ideal life?
- Set SMART goals. Once you know what you want to achieve, set the right goals for you.
- Challenge yourself. Do not underestimate yourself. Don’t settle for less. Be ambitious.
- Ensure accountability. You could do this on your own. Or you could lean on your friends or family to do this for you.
Stay motivated by setting a purpose for your goal
While setting goals, ask yourself “Why?” Why is this goal important? Why power is far more potent than willpower. On the days that you feel low and simply want to give up, the reason behind setting this goal will be your motivation. So, do not skip this step!
Keep yourself accountable
Accountability is perhaps the trickiest part of it all. Especially for long-term goals, it is very easy to get off-track and lose sight of the big picture. Therefore, you absolutely need a system of accountability. You could use tracking apps on your phone. Or resort to the old-school method of relying on friends and family to do that for you. Finding a community of people who are also striving towards a similar goal helps too.
Goals bind us to reality
When your colleagues invite you to a party every weekend it’s tempting to oblige, isn’t it? More so if you do not have any goals. Goals will keep you focused and grounded in reality. When you have a clear goal, you are less likely to be swayed by distractions. Of course, we all need to take breaks, but we also need to work for what we want.
Goal setting and positive psychology
Did you know goals play a crucial role in a person’s self-image? Studies have shown that when thinking about the future, setting goals and working towards them boost self-confidence and a positive self-image. What’s more astonishing is that whether the goal is achieved or not doesn’t seem to hinder the positive psychology of goal setting!
Goal: Get a promotion
Who is not looking for a promotion? Here’s how you can plan for that promotion this year:
- Make it a SMART goal. Specify which role you want to be in and how much time will it take to get there.
- Determine what you need to secure a promotion. Your manager and colleagues can help you figure this out.
- Break it into smaller goals. Here’s where backward planning comes into the picture. What are the small milestones that will get you that promotion? Ensure that your small goals are SMART too!
- Create a system of accountability.
Celebrate small victories and learn from setbacks
The path to achieving your goals will be rocky. There will be good and bad days. Celebrate the small victories along the way. Do not let the setbacks demotivate you. Take a break if you need, but don’t stop! It is important that you embrace both highs and lows and never lose sight of the final outcome.
Core concepts of goal setting theory
The five core concepts of goal-setting theory are:
- Clarity: This is where SMART goal setting comes in!
- Challenge: Your goals should challenge you. If not, you are not really improving.
- Commitment: Showing up and doing the work every day.
- Feedback: Have a feedback mechanism set up before you start working on accomplishing the goals.
- Task complexity: Take into account the complexity of the task. Is there a learning curve involved? You will need to account for that in your plan.
Goals and values alignment
Your goals should make sense to you. They need to be aligned with your personal values. If your goals and values do not go hand in hand, the conflict will erode your motivation. So set goals that are tailor-made for you.
Psychological studies and research on goal setting
There are many studies on the power of goal setting. All of them consistently prove that goal setting is linked to higher performance. Psychologists also observe that goal-setters have better self-confidence and more fulfilling lives.
Goal Setting and the Brain
Goal setting has the potential to rewire the human brain! When you set a goal, you are biologically re-programming the brain to create behaviors to achieve that goal. New, stronger bonds are formed between neurons that increase the likelihood of achieving the goal.
3 Interesting Research Findings
There have been many studies conducted on goal setting and its effects on people over the years. Three prominent ones are:
- A Study On The Interrelationships Among Employee Participation, Individual Differences, And Goal-Setting
- Dr. Gail Matthews’ (2015) Study On Goal-Setting
- A Study On Success And Goals
Of these, the first and last remain relevant to this day.
A Study On Goal-Setting at Workplace
In this study conducted in 1978, it was found that:
- Those who set difficult goals achieved greater success.
- People with higher self-esteem did better on the tasks.
- People who knew the why behind their goals had a better chance of following through with their plans.
A Study On Goals And Success
This study was conducted on small enterprises to identify what affects the goals and success of these companies. Surprisingly, the marketing ability of the organization head emerged as a clear winner.
A Goal-Setting Case Study
Researcher Brian F. Redmond conducted this case study to evaluate the impact of goal setting on employee performance. One of the participants, John, received a Professional Development Plan. He followed the tasks and reported regularly on the progress made. His example asserted that setting SMART goals can propel professional growth.
FAQ’s
Why is goal setting powerful?
Setting goals gives you a vision to work for. It fuels your enthusiasm and excitement. More than that, it even rewires your brain to help you achieve those goals! The power of setting goals can transform your life.
What are the five powers of effective goal setting?
An effective goal should be SMART.
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-bound
For example, “I will read more” is not a SMART goal.
“I will read one book every month this year” is a SMART goal.
What is the golden rule for goal setting?
The single most important thing while setting goals is that they should be aligned with your values and purpose. Set the right goals that make sense to you. You cannot borrow goals.
