Goal setting is a common way to introduce change in your life. New year's resolutions are a typical example in which goal setting is used on a world-wide scale to provoke positive change. Essentially, the aims are to maintain one goal for the entirety of the upcoming year. Strikingly, a mere 10% of people manage to commit to their resolutions long term, many giving up after just a few months. While there are countless academic papers on the science of goal setting, this article aims to provide a structured visual reference and a few tips to help you achieve your goals.
Structuring your goals
The image below is a goal-setting diagram for a resolution of "Running 10k in under 40 minutes by August 2023". Please note that I am not a licenced distance running coach, and this goal is for example purposes only.
By following the basic principles, shown by the large arrows on the left, you can adapt this diagram for a variety of goals. It is important to do some research and have a good understanding of the targets you are expecting yourself to meet. For some diagrams, such as rehabilitation goals, it would be safer to consult a licenced medical professional to advise you in creating this.
The foundations of goal setting are your 'Components', shown in the second row down. These are the general areas you need to work on to achieve your goal, and there can be as many of them as you'd like. When building your diagram, start with these. Breaking down your goal like this makes it more manageable and easier to track. In the next row, you can see the 'Methods'. This merely is breaking down your components into attainable goals, e.g. increasing running mileage. These are longer-term objectives that could take many months to achieve. They are HOW you aim to achieve your greater goals. Finally, 'Regular Targets'. These are daily or weekly goals that can be as simple or complex as you'd like. Make sure these targets are in your diary and are regularly updated and achieved.
A template like this allows for direct tracking and accountability. There can also be as many Components, Methods and Regular Targets as you feel necessary to achieve your main goal. Uniquely, with this method, you can achieve multiple small goals along the way. This can help boost your resilience and make you more consistently motivated to succeed.
1- Be Holistic
A key mistake many make in setting goals is not being holistic. Most goals set will be multi-faceted. To achieve them, many little aspects must be completed to accomplish the overall goal. In the example above, many people I have seen attempt to simplify the process. Many distance athletes attempting to PB in events such as 10k or half marathons view the event as an endurance event, so focus solely or heavily on the endurance strand of the diagram. This approach slows progress and leaves a lot of improvement avenues untapped.
2- Be realistic
Being realistic is crucial to goals. Achieving a goal and then extending or expanding it is far easier than setting one large, ambitious, or unreachable goal straight away. If you do not currently exercise regularly, setting a goal of running or going to the gym every day, may not be achievable straight away when adding in other life commitments and restraints. Exercising twice a week for four weeks, then systematically adding to this is a far easier way to stay motivated and adjust different aspects of your life around it steadily. In this example, if your current PB is 60 minutes, looking to achieve sub 40 minutes within a matter of months is likely unachievable. You will be disheartened and likely to give up early. Setting a more realistic goal, then extending to a second, third and fourth goal following the process is a far more efficient way to achieve the goal.
3- Be specific
The most common mistake I see with those setting goals is a lack of specificity. Setting a goal with a measurable metric is crucial. 'Running a better 10k time this year' is a far less effective goal than 'run a 10k in less than 40 minutes by August'. 'Wake up earlier' is far less effective than 'Be out of bed by 6:30am every day every weekday'. A lack of specificity allows for easier excuses and a potentially false sense of being on track. Breaking down both the exact goal, as well as components needed to achieve it allow for both focused effort, and clearer warnings if one branch is falling behind or struggling.
4- Change your behaviour with others or around others
Accountability is a huge driver of human behaviour. Where possible, tell others about your goals, or even find others with a similar goal to work alongside. Joining a likeminded training group, telling your co-workers your plans, or getting a housemate or significant other to join you in your goal will make things significantly easier. Research has found those individuals accountable for decisions, are far more likely to display greater consistency and stability of judgment than unaccountable ones.
Every goal you may have will differ in many ways. From giving up smoking to going on a diet, training for an event to improving your work performance, goals follow similar principles. By following a few basic principles, and systematically structuring the goal, it is far easier to achieve your targets and succeed in whatever region you are targeting.
Hagafors, Roger and Berndt Brehmer 1983 "Does having to justify one's decisions change the nature of the judgment process?" Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 31:223-32.
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