GOALS / 001 [WHAT MAKES A GOAL ACTUALLY WORK?]

Question
Why do some goals push you forward while others never get you anywhere?

Study
In this textbook chapter, a researcher summarised decades of research on goals, plans and if then plans, including experiments and a study of 158 retired elite athletes.

Findings
People with goals perform better than people without them. But only goals that are difficult, specific and fit what you really want reliably improve performance, and only when you get feedback on your progress. In one experiment, picturing the outcome (the result you want) actually lowered effort and performance, while picturing the process (the steps to get there) raised them. If then plans, like "if X happens, then I do Y", strongly increased the chance of reaching a goal, especially for hard goals and when there were distractions. And letting go of a goal that was no longer reachable only helped wellbeing when people chose a new goal to replace it.

What It Means for Athletes
"I want to get better" is a wish, not a goal. A good goal is hard, specific, yours, and measurable. Goals are not magic though: they work less well for creative tasks, or when someone forces them on you.

Try this: take one goal and make it complete. Make it specific and challenging ("under 31 seconds"). Write down why it matters to you. Decide how you'll measure progress. And add one if then plan, like "If the pain makes me want to give up, then I focus on long, relaxed strokes."

Source
Reeve, J. (2018). Goal setting and goal striving. In J. Reeve, Understanding motivation and emotion (7th ed., pp. 179 to 200). Wiley.

BEHIND THE SCIENCE
Translating sports science into information athletes can actually use.