Goal setting withing a coaching setting can be categorised into two distinct types:
Our intentions: When contemplating change or confronting a challenge, a clear understanding of our goals and intentions can effectively guide us towards the actions necessary for positive change.
Our action plans: When formulating an action plan, we construct robust goals comprising specific tasks and beneficial mindsets, ensuring effective navigation towards desired changes.
In this article, I explore the science of goal setting and identify useful frameworks to support various situations:
Additionally, I share my "3 Top Tips for Goal Setting" to aid you in making positive changes, along with tips for personalising these frameworks to meet your individual needs, to help you unlock your full potential and achieve lasting change.
What the Research Says
In her book 'The How of Happiness', the esteemed psychologist and author Sonja Lyubomirsky describes six advantages of goal pursuit:
Working towards our goals provides us with a sense of purpose and control over our lives.
Establishing meaningful goals enhances our self-esteem, leading to improved confidence and efficacy. Additionally, achieving sub-goals—those smaller steps towards our larger objectives—elicits increased positive emotions, such as joy and pride, motivating us to persevere and pursue further goals.
Pursuing our goals instils structure and meaning into our daily lives.
Setting goals improves our time management skills; we develop the ability to prioritise important goals and schedule subgoals accordingly.
When faced with significant changes or life-altering challenges, the pursuit of goals, and the replacement of old, unattainable goals with new ones, can contribute to greater happiness.
Goal pursuit often fosters social engagement, leading to increased social connections within our personal networks, which in turn enhances life satisfaction and happiness.
Lyubomirsky further suggests that we derive greater satisfaction and pleasure from pursuing goals that are intrinsically rewarding—meaningful to us—while extrinsic goals, determined either by others or sought for external approval, may not yield the same level of fulfilment.
And finally, Lyubomirsky correlates experiencing joy, happiness, and pleasure with the pursuit of goals that fit with our personality, this could also be considered as aligning with our values or with our personal strengths.
Before embarking on goal pursuit, Robert Leahy proposes three pivotal questions to ascertain commitment to change:
What is your goal?
What steps must you take to achieve it?
Are you willing to take those steps?
This final question is fundamental. While great intentions and a strong desire for change may prompt us to contemplate change, actualising that change requires a deeper commitment (for more insights, consider reading my blog post on positive change).
Goal Setting for Powerful Intentions
Gillian Jones and Ro Gorell have outlined a seven-statement framework designed to help individuals gain clarity on their intentions. This framework, inspired by the work of Robert Dilts, a specialist in neuro-linguistic programming, allows individuals to tap into their unconscious and articulate what is important to them:
'Because you...' articulates the reasons why this topic holds importance for you.
'Therefore you...' explores the benefits of engaging in this pursuit, building upon the insights from statement 1.
'Whenever you...' places the benefits outlined in statement 2 within a contextual framework.
'So that you...' explores the underlying reasons why the benefits stated in statement 2 are meaningful to you.
For further exploration – ‘If you...' encourages consideration of additional statements that hold true about the topic.
'Although you...' provides a reality check, acknowledging other aspects that are also true.
'In the same way that you...' offers additional details to elaborate on statement 6.
Personalisation Tip: Ensure you have a separate set of notes handy as you jot down your intentions. This allows you to capture all the brilliant ideas and positive solutions that may emerge as you explore your goal or intention. Your unique thought patterns and past experiences may lead to spontaneous 'aha' moments as you contemplate your objectives. Be sure to capture these insights for future reference when reviewing your options related to your goal.
Goal Setting for Improved Wellness
In wellness coaching, various frameworks are employed to assist individuals in goal setting. One such framework is the GROW model, which offers a flexible and comprehensive approach without overly constricting how you describe your goal:
Goal – Clearly outline what you aim to achieve, ensuring you define what success looks like for you.
Reality – Describe your current situation, acknowledging any obstacles and potential barriers. Reflect on past successes and identify resources that can support you in your journey.
Options – Generate a list of potential solutions, considering factors such as timeframes, durations, available resources, including other people. Evaluate and rank these options, prioritising the most practical and exciting ones.
Wrap-up – Select your preferred solution and thoroughly review it for any additional obstacles. Develop smaller action steps with their own timeframes, durations, and required resources to support the achievement of your chosen solution.
Personalisation Tip: Incorporate a review component into your action plan. This will enable you to refine your actions based on your unique circumstances and personal situations. Consider reviewing whether your actions align with your goal and values, as well as assessing any unforeseen obstacles that may arise.
Goal Setting for When You Feel Overwhelmed
Achieving a sense of purpose and meaning often entails setting goals that challenge us to step out of our comfort zones and embrace change to attain different outcomes. However, when our goals feel too large, they can appear daunting, particularly when juggling them alongside our already busy lives.
Consider the following three steps:
Break the goal down into small, manageable steps to make progress more feasible.
Prioritise these steps by assigning a number to each based on the order in which you intend to tackle them.
Utilise Jayne Hardy’s 'Micro Step' diagram, as depicted below, to visually map out your goal.
Personalisation Tip: Focus on actions that resonate with your values and allow you to use your personal strengths. Aligning your tasks with these aspects not only enhances your motivation and discipline in pursuing them but also uplifts your mood and overall wellbeing.
Goal Setting for Improved Lifestyle Habits
While you may be familiar with the SMART framework, Michael Hyatt has introduced the SMARTER framework for both achievement and habit goals, aiming to infuse engagement and enthusiasm into your goals. The SMARTER goals encompass the following elements:
Rather than rigidly adhering to a grid format, the emphasis is on flexibility. Therefore, consider structuring your goal as follows:
Ensure your goal is relevant by aligning it with your values, personal circumstances, and needs. The subsequent statements will further reinforce the relevance of your goal to you.
Actionable – Determine the specific action you will take. For example reduce, walk, run, call, or add.
Specific, Measurable, Risky & Exciting – Design a goal that inspires and challenges you. For instance, if you're updating your exercise routine, incorporate a risky element to add excitement, this could be about location, community, or a fun playlist. Ensure your goal is measurable, with clear success criteria such as the number of reps or when you show up. Be precise about the details of your actions, including strategies to mitigate against obstacles that may impact your consistent participation.
Time-keyed – In Hyatt’s framework for habit goals the Time-Keyed element is subdivided into four separate elements:
Time-keyed: Specify when, such as every morning.
Time trigger: Identify a specific time, e.g., 7 am.
Start date: Determine when you'll begin, e.g., tomorrow (dd/mm/yy).
Streak target: Set a target duration, e.g., four weeks, and schedule a review at this point.
Personalisation Tip: As you adopt this technique, consider starting with habits you already practice but wish to enhance consistency with. This approach allows you to practice infusing excitement into your goals and refining your use of the time-keyed element of the framework.
3 Top Tips For Goal Setting
Focus on Action Goals, Not Outcome Goals: An outcome goal could look like ‘lose 5 kg’, consider the potential impact of not reaching this goal or achieving it later than planned. Action goals, on the other hand, entail specific actions you can take, such as eating whole foods for at least 5 days a week and exercising two extra times per week. By setting action goals, you create tangible steps that you can realistically achieve each day. Not only does this approach boost your mood and maintain a sense of control, but it also often yields similar results to outcome goals.
Implement Personal Rules to Combat Decision Fatigue: Design personal rules that streamline your decision-making process and reduce decision fatigue. For example, a rule to check emails after 10 am to ensure you start your day having already accomplished some of your work goals first. Or, a rule to set your devices to switch to a grey screen and silent mode after 8 pm to facilitate winding down and improving the quality of your sleep.
Incorporate Contingencies into Your Plans: I like Chip & Dan Heath’s use of ‘tripwires’, to build contingencies into action plans. These tripwires serve as cues to prompt you to take alternative actions. For example, if you miss your daily walk two days in a row, you’ll commit to taking it before starting work the following day. Or, if you haven't received a response to a work opportunity by the 3rd of the month, you’ll make a phone call rather than sending another email, and then proceed with your next action.
By clarifying our intentions and constructing actionable plans, we set ourselves on a path towards meaningful progress. Sonja Lyubomirsky's insights remind us that the pursuit of intrinsically rewarding goals and goals that align with our personality and values, not only foster joy and happiness but enhance our sense of fulfilment.
However, we know that the journey towards our goals isn't always straightforward. Overwhelm can creep in, decision fatigue can wear us down, and setbacks may impact our motivation. Yet, by following top tips such as breaking goals down into manageable steps, implementing personal rules to streamline decision-making, and building contingencies into our plans, we equip ourselves with the tools needed to navigate these challenges.
Moreover, by injecting an element of fun, pleasure, and excitement into our goals, we transform them from mere tasks into enriching experiences. Whether it's infusing a workout routine with fun and interesting elements or embracing new habits with enthusiasm, adding a little of excitement and challenge can make all the difference.
Goal setting is not just about achieving outcomes; it's about cultivating a journey that resonates with who we are—our values, strengths, and individuality. By embracing personalisation, breaking our goals down, and infusing our actions with passion and purpose, we pave the way for a fulfilling and enriching path towards our aspirations.
How To Start Making a Change
Choose one of the frameworks above, set a realistic, slightly challenging goal that will help improve how you feel about you and the life you live.
How Coaching Could Support You
Well considered goal setting is the foundation of coaching. When you work with me, you are in control of what your session goals are (your intentions within the session) and the goals you develop that support you making improvements to your wellness (action tasks outside of the session). Wellness coaching focuses on improving emotional and physical health, which can be improved by looking at any area of your life; from lifestyle changes to confidence, to career. To ultimately thrive and live the life you desire.
Find out more about coaching with me here.
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