How to Set Positive, Effective Goals

Most people are already aware of the importance of setting goals. It gives you something to work for and something that makes the work itself feel meaningful. It’s a great tool that’s integral to personal development and change. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the majority of goals that are set are not achieved.

One reason for this is the framing of the goal itself. People often focus on what they want to avoid when setting goals. This includes goals like, “stop being overweight” “don’t get fired” “don’t have a panic attack”. While these are perfectly fine goals to have, the way they are phrased is focused on the problem and a little vague. It can make the goals seem harder to attain and not feel as good to work towards since we’re just trying to avoid something that is causing us distress.

More effective goals tend to be more specific and are attainable steps that will ultimately lead to the same result as the avoidance based goals. For example, more positive approach goals might include, “I will go for a walk everyday after dinner” “I will bring up work concerns with my boss to discover if there’s anywhere I can improve” “I will practice a meditation nightly”. By making this change to our goals we now have something achievable to focus on. It also feels more positive, so we can see we are moving toward something when working on these goals, rather than trying to move away.

As with most things in mental health, this is a harder process than it may sound in a short article. If you are having difficulty setting and achieving goals and would like help, you can schedule a free consultation with Burnout Prevention Therapy for coaching or therapy sessions by clicking here.