Goal setting has received a lot of attention over recent years and been applied within a number of setting including lifestyle, employment and health. This blog describes one goal setting approach and provides some helpful techniques.
People often intend to change their behaviour but find it difficult to meet those intentions. Just think back to some of those past New Year resolutions or good plans. This is called the intention-behaviour gap and studies have found that a persons’ intention to change behaviour alone is less likely to result in actual change (1).
Behaviour change requires belief and confidence in your ability to succeed at making the change (self-efficacy). It also has to be valued as important to the individual. The process of goal-setting and action planning brings these internal psychological factors to the surface so you can use them to your advantage.
Key message: Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
Tony Robbins
Setting goals and action plans sounds straightforward. However, there is science and artwork to consider. Making goals too easy or hard can affect a persons’ motivation and influence goal achievement. Fortunately, research has identified strategies that can help people set and achieve desired goals. Two such strategies include identifying goal characteristics and creating action plans that facilitate goal achievement. By framing our goals more accurately we can improve our chances of attaining them, which in turn can improve our confidence and intrinsic motivation. All of this can help a person maintain a successful lifestyle change.
Key message: goals require key ingredients to make them more powerful and meaningful to the individual. They have certain characteristics that should be linked to actions to achieve them.
Goal characteristics
Approach goals are positively framed and associated with positive emotions, thoughts and self-evaluations. It is thought they lead to greater psychological well-being. For instance an exercise related approach goal may be something like “to do a 20 minute exercise session before I go to work”. Avoidance goals on the otherhand, focus on shifting away from an undesired outcome. For example, “I won’t eat chocolate today”. These elicit more negative associations.
Goal difficulty
Some studies have found that challenging goals produce better results than easy goals, especially when someone is committed to them. Easy goals are associated with low effort and decreased performance (2). There is also evidence to suggest that people are more willing to attempt more difficult intrinsically motivating goals (3). However, although setting challenging goals can enhance confidence, repeated failure to achieve a goal can result in diminished self-efficacy, decreased satisfaction and impaired future performance. Therefore, the process of goal setting requires balanced consideration and re-calibration if necessary. Assigning goals is not a straight-forward process and requires science and artwork to get it right.
Key message: Goal difficulty depends on a persons’ commitment, motivation and self-efficacy. Challenging goals tend to work better especially if they’re intrinsically motivating and important to the individual.
Goal proximity
Research in motivation theory has consistently shown that to maximise your chances of successfully achieving goals it’s best to set both short-term and long-term goals that support each other. Achieving the smaller goals maintains motivation and attention to the bigger picture.
Goal relevance
Studies have found that goal relevance is crucial to successful goal setting. Goals should be relevant to the individual as well as appropriate for someone’s health and lifestyle. For instance, it’s a good idea to think about why you want to achieve your goal of running a 5k. Will it improve your quality of life? Perhaps the process of getting there will give you a sense of achievement, make you fitter and healthier so you can lead a more active lifestyle or engage with your children more? This is a meaningful goal, and as a result, you might be more committed to working toward it.
Key message: Exercise goals should be relevant to your lifestyle, current fitness level and available time.
Goal types
There are three types of goals – process, performance, and outcome goals.
Process goals are specific actions or ‘processes’ of performing. For example, focusing on an aspect of your run technique during a race, like your foot strike. Process goals are 100% controllable by the individual. Performance goals are based on personal standard. For example, aiming to run the 100m in a given time. Personal goals are mostly controllable. Outcome goals are based on winning. This could look like winning a tournament or gaining a top three finish. Outcome goals are difficult to control because of other outside influences.
Key message: Process + Performance = Outcome
SMART Goal Setting Model
The SMART model is one of the most well-known and used models when it comes to goal setting and is built on the work carried out by Locke in the 1960s. It’s highly adaptable and has a very clear structure that can be applied to a variety of settings including exercise.
SMART stands for:
• Specific: Your goal(s) must be clearly defined.
• Measurable: Each goal has a clear metric for how it can be measured either for progress or outcome.
• Achievable: Your goal(s) should be realistic and challenging. Set goals that are yours and aren’t too easy or hard as discussed above.
• Relevant: Put some thought into planning your goal(s). Make sure you pursue a goal that holds value to your life.
• Time-bound: Set a realistic deadline for each goal and the actions to get there to keep you focused and motivated.
Actions to achieve your goals
Action plans can be used to address goals. Both should be approach led, appropriately challenging, and intrinsically motivating. Action plans may specify the steps needed to implement and achieve the goal. The steps within an action plan can allow the individual to try out different strategies to discover what does and doesn’t work, thus building self-efficacy in the meantime. Goal setting and action planning for health behaviour change need not require a significant amount of time, and although it does require effort.
Summary
Making goals explicit is an excellent way of examining and directing your motivation. To do this;
• Pinpoint your goal(s).
• Examine what important to you.
• Make goals challenging but realistic.
• Set small, specific goals alongside larger ones.
• Frame them positively.
• Make goals relevant.
• Monitor your progress regularly.
• Adapt to changing circumstances.
• Don’t be too hard on yourself
Write them down and keep a regular track of them; are they working or not; too difficult or easy; are you feeling good or not – re-calibrate!!!
By following key principles like these you can give yourself a powerful tool to use to drive success.
Good luck!
Remember, speak to your GP if you have concerns or health issues about what kind of exercise is right for you, how much you should be doing and what precautions you should take to ensure that your workouts are safe.
1) Bailey RR. Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2017 Sep 13;13(6):615-618. doi: 10.1177/1559827617729634. PMID: 31662729; PMCID: PMC6796229.
2) Locke EA, Latham GP. Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. A 35-year odyssey. Am Psychol. 2002;57:705-717.
3) Deci EL, Ryan RM. The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self- determination of behavior. Psychol Inquiry. 2000;11:227-268.