Yes, it’s the beginning of a 2022, and we all know what that means… New Year’s resolutions! Goal setting certainly can happen any time, but the fresh start of a new year inspires many of us to make a list of at least a few things we would like to accomplish. However, you might be surprised to hear that, according to the University of Scranton, a whopping 92% of us don’t achieve the New Year’s goals we set for ourselves. So, whether you set goals regularly, or would like to begin now, here is what science tells us about why we should set goals for ourselves and how to do it successfully.
With those discouraging statistics, you may ask yourself why you should even set goals in the first place. Well, because goal setting, when done right, helps you become more successful! Leaders in the field of goal setting, Edward Locke and Gary Latham, have published numerous studies on the subject. Their research shows that goals not only change our behavior, they also increase energy which leads to increased effort and subsequently an increase in persistent effort. In other words, goals help you perform better.
Studies in the fields of neurobiology and psychology reinforce this as well, showing us a wealth of information supporting the idea that setting goals changes our brains to make us more effective at achieving those goals. A study published in The Journal of Neuroscience Nursing studied patients with Multiple Sclerosis at the University of Texas and found that those who set challenging wellness goals had fewer, less severe symptoms. In addition, a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that for highly emotional goals, in simple terms, the ones that we really want, our brains will actually make the obstacles to that goal appear less significant.
Now that it’s clear why we should set goals for ourselves, the next question is how to do so successfully. A study from the Dominican University of California with 149 participants found that the most successful goal setters did these three things:
1. They wrote action commitments and sent them to a friend.
2. They sent weekly progress reports to their friend.
3. They wrote their goals down and rated them.
As Dr. Gail Matthews, the study’s director, said, “My study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment, and writing down one’s goals.”
In another study about goal studying, Professor Cecile K. Cho of the University of California, Riverside conducted two experiments, and found that people who set ambitious goals tend to be more satisfied. In addition, Milne, Orbell, and Sheeran studied 248 participants over a two-week period and discovered that people whose goals were concrete and detailed in nature were much more likely to achieve them. For example, “I will exercise more,” is less effective than, “ I will go to the gym from 6-7a.m. Monday through Friday.”
In closing, studies tell us that not only does goal setting lead to better performance, it can help us achieve the things we want the most. To set goals successfully, we should be writing them down, sharing our progress with friends weekly, and making them both challenging and detailed. And let’s not save goal setting just for New Year’s, but keep them around all year long.
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/study-ambitious-goals-make-you-happier-2011-8#:~:targetText=Flickr%2FRennett%20Stowe%20As%20if,the%20Journal%20of%20Consumer%20Research.
love this!