Making Goals More Manageable

Start making progress on your goals by making them manageable

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In 2008, the U.S. economy was in freefall. In response, Congress signed into law a stimulus package that aimed to give money to low-income middle-class families, among other things. Social scientists took advantage of the situation in order to run a few experiments.

One such experiment—run by researchers at the University of Miami and at UC San Diego—tested for self-control and planning. [1] Recipients of the stimulus package were told by experimenters that in order to receive the money, they needed to make a plan for how they were going to use it.

Those who made a plan (as opposed to those in the control group) ended up spending more. Their self-control flew out the window. Those who didn’t make a plan spent less.

You might be saying: Huh? You’d think planning ahead would help self-control, not do the opposite.

But the reason those who planned ahead spent more likely has to do with goals. When you make a goal but feel like you’re not making any progress on it, your motivation drops. Makes sense, right?

So what do you think would happen if you had to add extra planning to your goal that you’re not making any progress on? You’d feel like someone was kicking a man when he was down. And that’s likely exactly what the planning instruction did to the recipients of the stimulus package. It added another burden to someone who was very likely an already burdened person. It killed what little motivation was left.

Could This Have Been Avoided?

It would be a mistake to blame the planning for the de-motivation these people experienced. The problem has more to do with how people make goals in general.

I’ve often seen clients make goals that are clearly doomed to failure when asked what they want out of counseling. That’s where I lend some of my expertise in the goal-making phase.

What do I see them doing wrong? They make goals that are simply unattainable. The goal is big, far-reaching, and not very practical. They want to change everything in their life.

Now, while I applaud them for their ambition, goals that are too big feel overwhelming. A goal that’s overwhelming feels impossible and inadvertently kills motivation. However, a goal that is well-designed can make life feel manageable.

Below are the key elements of effective goal-making that I walk my clients through:

1. Take a big goal and break it into smaller goals.

If you want to change your life, ask yourself, what aspects or parts of your life do you want to change? Weight loss? Relationships? Career goals? Determine the different goal areas then break those smaller "big" goals down into even smaller goals.

The psychological outcomes of setting... goals include enhanced task interest, pride in performance, a heightened sense of personal effectiveness, and, in most cases, many practical life benefits such as better jobs and higher pay. [2]

2. Make the goal measurable.

If you choose a goal, make sure there is a way you can somehow put a number to it. If you want to lose weight—how much weight? If you want to make more money—how much more money? Doing this makes the goal feel real.

People often make their goals vague. A vague goal is like driving in thick fog. You think you’re going the right way, but you have no clue if you’re making progress or not because you can’t see. Numbers help clear the fog.

3. Goals must be realistic, attainable, and practical.

If your goal is to win the lotto, I don’t think that’s very realistic. If your goal is to write a book, get a Ph.D., and get rich in a year, sorry, I don’t think that’s very practical. Again, take your goal and break it down into smaller goals.

Another key point regarding goals relates to being realistic and practical and considering what is within your control. For example, changing another person is not within your control. However, changing how you respond to that person is within your control.

Thus, it can be useful to divide what you want into two categories: what is within your control and what is outside your control. Once you’ve done that, create attainable and measurable goals for what is within your control, and work on accepting what is outside your control. You can’t change what’s outside your control, but you can change yourself.

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Goal commitment is likely if the outcome of the goal is important to the person, and the person believes that the goal is indeed attainable [2]

4. After you’ve set your goal, make objectives.

The goal is your dream of what could be achieved, and objectives are how you plan on accomplishing the goal. Again, if your goal is to lose weight, how do you plan to do that?

If you say “I’ll eat healthier” that runs the risk of being vague. How do you plan on eating healthier? This is when you get down to monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly specifics. The more specific and concrete you can be, the more likely you are to follow through with your goal.

5. Enlist supporters, friends, and partners in your goals.

If you think you can accomplish your goal alone, you are most likely sorely mistaken. Most of the time, you need a community supporting and helping you.

A community provides many benefits, including feedback, accountability, and encouragement. When you're making some hard changes, you want people in your court. Setting and accomplishing a goal is incredibly hard work; but if done right, it can be life-changing. Don’t do it alone.