The Real Truth About The Power of Goal Setting

Have you ever wondered what methods elite athletes use to enhance their performance?   A study of over 200 Olympic athletes concluded that one of their main characterising features was their use of clear goals.

If you want to improve your personal performance in any sphere of your life and be more successful than you are now, then you too need to set goals.

Why set goals?

Goal setting consistently facilitates improved performance.  Goal setting is a powerful technique for enhancing your performance and achievements.

Goal setting as a motivational approach to enhancing performance is one of the most thoroughly researched areas of psychology.  The psychological research on goal setting is impressive in that it has been conducted in a variety of laboratory and field settings, and has used a wide variety of tasks & diverse samples of people including children, managers and unskilled workers.    

A comprehensive review of over 100 psychological studies on goal setting concluded that "the beneficial effect of goal setting on task performance is one of the most robust and replicable findings in the psychological literature".

Goals set specific standards that will motivate you to take direct action by focussing attention, increasing effort and intensity, prompting the development of new problem-solving strategies and encouraging persistence in the face of failure.

Having specific goals will lead you to higher levels of performance than having no goals or "easy" goals or "do your best" goals.

What are goals?

A goal is something that you want to accomplish.  It is the object or aim of an action.  Goals can also be set to achieve a specific standard of proficiency on a task, usually within a specified time limit.

The famous football coach Sven Goran Erikkson has said: "Goals are the things we want to achieve.  It is important to set them".

It is also useful to define the different kinds of goals that you can set:

Outcome Goals 

These focus on achieving specific results.e.g. Winning a particular tournament or getting a new sports car

Performance Goals 
These focus on improvements relative to one's own past performance e.g. Achieving a specific score or grade 

Process Goals 

These focus on the procedures in which you will engage during performance i.e. the actual physical steps necessary to achieve the performance and outcome goal.

What is known as "goal proximity" is a further defining factor.  An individual can set Long Term, and Medium/Short Term goals within the three categories defined above. Research suggests that having a combination of Long and Medium/Short Term goals produces the greatest performance improvements.

The attainment of a series of sub-goals (Short/Medium term) is particularly effective, as this provides indicators of performance improvement that can lead to enhanced confidence and motivation.

How Does Goal Setting Work?
The theoretical explanations for the relationship between goal setting and performance include:

1. Goals direct and focus your attention to important aspects of a specific task.

2. Goals help you to mobilize effort e.g. by setting a series of steps towards a goal you will exhibit greater effort towards achieving your goal.

3. Goals not only increase immediate effort but prolong effort and increase persistence

4. Research has shown that you will often develop and employ new learning strategies through the process of setting and achieving goals.

Therefore we can conclude that goal setting is a very powerful method of performance enhancement and the act of setting goals correctly should be a high priority for us.

If you are looking for further information on goal setting you will receive a free copy of "How Winners Really Set Goals" e-book (and 3 further valuable free gifts - details below) when you subscribe to the "Increasing Life" community newsletter. Sign up details at the top of the page on the left hand side!

Simon Hazeldine
Founder
Increasing Life

Dedicated to Your Health, Wealth, Success, Happiness and Freedom

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