Set Compelling Goals for Success

To reach your goals, set clear, specific ones and enjoy the process! You might have already navigated major life changes like ending an unhealthy relationship or switching careers. These tasks need to be done, even when finding motivation is hard. Demands, distractions, and worries are all part of life, and they can often derail your motivation and goals. So, how do you stay motivated to pursue your dreams when life gets busy? It all starts with choosing the right goal.

Setting goals can be a strong motivational tool. To set a goal that drives you to success, remember these three points:

• First, make your goal the result, not a step towards another goal. For example, say your goal is "getting a job" instead of "applying for jobs." Your goals should feel exciting, not like a chore.
• Second, keep your goals somewhat abstract, but not too vague. For example, "improve my mental health" is better than "be happy" because it guides you to your next step, like starting therapy.
• Third, focus on "do" goals rather than "don't" goals. Set goals aimed at achieving something positive, like good health or success, instead of avoiding something negative, like illness or failure.

Set Effective Goals

Goals, like recipes, work best when they are specific and measurable. Choose a target that is challenging, clear, and doable so you can track your progress. It’s important to set your own goals because it helps you stay committed.

Avoid setting goals that are too optimistic. While optimism is great, being overly hopeful can lead to daydreaming instead of actual work. Think of Ted Lasso—it's fun to be an optimist, but we need to stay realistic to achieve our goals.

There are two types of targets to consider: how much (e.g., saving $10,000) and how soon (e.g., within a year, six months, or two years). Instead of vague goals like “doing well at your new job” or “getting more sleep,” make them specific: “finish a work project by the end of the week” or “get eight hours of sleep every night.” If you want to start running, aim for something concrete like “complete the Chicago Marathon in under five hours.”

Use Incentives to Boost Self-Motivation

Another important tool for self-motivation is incentives. In behavioral science, which dates back to Pavlov’s experiments with dogs, incentives are rewards and punishments that motivate action. They create small, immediate goals that help you reach your main goal.

For example, let's consider your favorite coffee spot. How much is your latte or flat white? Do you sometimes think it's too expensive? High-priced coffees are often blamed for people's lack of savings. Some even joke that lattes and avocado toast are why millennials can't buy houses. Yet, we still buy them because they feel like rewards. Whether it's for getting out of bed or having a productive morning, we always find a reason.

To make incentives effective, ensure they reward the right actions. Otherwise, you might face the “cobra effect.” This is a real story where people in India bred cobras to collect rewards for catching them. It’s crucial to distinguish whether your incentive helps you progress toward your goal or if it's just an easy target that doesn’t contribute to real progress.

Goal-Setting for Success

If you aim to get promoted, rewarding yourself based on time spent at your computer won't help much. Instead, focus on rewarding the quality or quantity of your work. For example, set a goal to create a valuable report or pitch a product idea monthly. To keep things exciting, accept uncertainty and occasionally pause your incentives. Taking breaks helps ensure you're pursuing goals for their own sake, not just for rewards.

Another crucial aspect of goal-setting is making it enjoyable. In Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," he suggests that work is what you have to do, while play is what you choose to do. This idea relates to intrinsic motivation—doing things because you want to, find them enjoyable, or because they fulfill a personal goal. Intrinsic motivation is key to staying engaged in any activity, driving you forward because it feels good and aligns with your desires.

Make Goals Enjoyable Leads to Success

When you set a goal, especially if it’s something you don’t find very exciting, like work or exercise, it helps to find a way to make it enjoyable. Having fun with what you’re doing keeps you motivated from within, which is key to achieving success. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, ending a relationship can be tough and not fun at all. In such cases, focus on the long-term benefits, like feeling free or avoiding further pain. Even when a task isn’t naturally enjoyable, remind yourself why you want to do it and think about the positive results it will bring.

To make your goals more enjoyable, consider temptation bundling. This means combining something you love with a task you need to do. For instance, watching your favorite show only while you work out can make exercising more appealing. Another strategy is to pay attention to moments of joy you have experienced. For instance, if you’re trying to start running in the mornings, notice the brief euphoria after a run or the feeling of warmth from the sun and wind while you run. Focus on these positive moments to make pursuing your goals more pleasant.

Track Your Progress to Stay Motivated and Monitor the “Middle Problem”

Keeping momentum means staying on top of your progress and tackling the challenges that come in the middle. Setting a goal, like running a marathon or clearing out your inbox, is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in making it happen. Whether you're going from being a couch potato to finishing 26.2 miles or dealing with a mountain of emails until they hit zero, tracking your progress is crucial for staying motivated.

Tracking your progress enhances your motivation in two ways. 

• First, it builds your confidence by showing that you can reach your goal. 
• Second, it reinforces the value of your goal because of the time and effort you've invested.

When monitoring progress, the key question is: Should you focus on what you've accomplished so far, or what's left to do? The answer is both. For example, think about those loyalty stamp cards you often get. Initially, you might not pay much attention to them. But as you collect stamps towards a free coffee, smoothie, or pizza, you may find yourself buying these items more frequently just to complete the card.

Motivation Strategies: Glass-Half-Full vs. Glass-Half-Empty

As you get closer to a reward, you crave it more. Our brains work this way. This is called the "goal gradient effect" in motivation science. It means the more progress you make, the more excited you feel to keep going. It's like seeing the glass as half-full—it motivates you positively.

On the other hand, seeing the glass as half-empty can also spur you into action. For example, during yoga at home, noticing a giant dust ball might be the final straw. Realizing you haven't cleaned in ages, you suddenly grab the vacuum cleaner. In this case, feeling behind on chores motivates you to act.

Both mindsets have their uses. If you're new to something or unsure about it, a glass-half-full mindset can keep you motivated. But if you're experienced or already committed to a goal, thinking with a glass-half-empty perspective might be what drives you to succeed.

Track Progress in Fitness

When you're new to the gym, count how many days you've gone. It feels great to see you've made it three times last week! If you're already into fitness but slipped from your routine, think about the days you missed—let that little guilt push you. Whether you're feeling good or bad, it shows whether you're making progress or falling behind.

Staying motivated is easier at the start and end of your fitness journey. Starting new hobbies like guitar or learning a language is exciting, but after a month, it often fades away. This happens because enthusiasm wanes when activities become routine—the "middle problem."

This dip in motivation is known as the "middle problem," explained by the principle that the longer you do something, the harder it is to keep up the excitement.

Stay Motivated Toward Your Goals

To stay motivated toward your goal, you’ll likely compare your next action to whichever is smaller: the progress you already made or the progress that you have yet to make. At the beginning, you’ll look back at what you’ve done. Past the midpoint, you’ll look ahead at what’s still missing. Each time you check, you’ll feel motivated. But in the middle, it seems that either way looks equally long. Whether you look back or ahead, neither area seems smaller than the other. This lack of difference can decrease motivation to complete the goal or to do it well.

This is a big challenge for many, including myself. How can we avoid getting stuck? The solution is quite simple: make the middle shorter. For example, if you have a fitness goal, set weekly exercise targets rather than monthly ones. If it's a large work project with a distant deadline, break it into smaller weekly tasks. Here’s another trick: consider the present as a beginning or an end. For instance, if you think of lunch as the start of the afternoon rather than the middle of the day, you might eat healthier. Lastly, reflect on times when you've succeeded or failed in achieving past goals. Remembering successes is usually easy, but we all stumble at times. Learning from those setbacks is crucial. If you struggle to accept your mistakes, you're not alone—but you're missing out on valuable insights.

Learn from Failure and Cultivating Growth

Playwright Samuel Beckett once famously wrote, “Keep trying. Fail, then fail better.” Serena Williams, often hailed as one of the greatest tennis players, has said, “I've grown most from setbacks, not victories.” Both emphasize a crucial point: in pursuing any goal, success isn't guaranteed, but learning from both success and failure is certain.

As someone familiar with failure, I can affirm that adopting a growth mindset is key to learning from setbacks. This mindset means understanding that your abilities can develop through effort and perseverance. Research shows that a growth mindset increases resilience in the face of challenges and helps one view criticism as constructive feedback rather than a personal attack. Another effective strategy to stay motivated during failure is giving advice, even if you feel inexperienced. By sharing what you've learned—whether it's managing emotions or saving money—you reinforce your own knowledge and capabilities, reminding yourself of how far you've come.

Find Role Models and Anti-Role Models for Success

To achieve personal and shared goals, it's crucial to seek help and guidance from those around you. Look for someone you admire and can learn from—a role model like a friend, parent, teacher, or colleague who acknowledges your presence. A great role model not only sets an example but also establishes expectations for your growth.

I once had a professor whom I admired greatly. Despite my doubts about my abilities, they entrusted me with challenging tasks. When I expressed uncertainty and the need for assistance, they reassured me, saying they believed in my potential to succeed and wanted me to achieve more. Their confidence in me became my greatest motivation, and I worked tirelessly to meet their expectations. In contrast, there are also anti-role models whose behaviors we aim not to emulate. For instance, some may say, "I don't want to become like my parents," which can inspire us to adopt contrasting behaviors that align with our goals. These dual influences—positive role models and negative examples—can significantly impact our journey towards success.

Boost Motivation with Others Around

Being around other people can increase your motivation. A study from 1898 showed that cyclists who raced against each other were faster than those who raced alone against the clock. This effect, where people work harder when others are watching, is called "social facilitation."

You can use this to your advantage. For instance, working in a café or another public place might help you stay motivated. Even if you prefer solitude but have big goals, there’s still hope. Having a picture of a loved one nearby—or even a picture of eyes staring at you—can push you to work harder and be your best self.