New year, new you? Goal setting and motivation

It’s a new year and most of us are reeling from eating so much food and having bottomless drinks. If you were able to keep your consumption under control, congratulations you get a A+ for self-control. On the other hand, if you just couldn’t keep your hands off the ham or Christmas cake, you’re probably experiencing some guilt and scrambling to make gym plans! But what determines if you will carry-out or stay committed to your gym plans?

1. Goal Setting

Goal theory tells us that there are two important factors to consider when we want to change our behaviour or accomplish goals: (a) the goal must be conscious and specific i.e. we must have a target in mind, it is important to know what you want to accomplish (e.g. reduce weight by 10 pounds), and (b) the goal must be sufficiently difficult (i.e., you must aim to achieve or do more than your usual standard of performance or the number of acts and decisions required to reach the goal must be moderately challenging). Of course, available resources and feedback on performance also assist us to modify our goals and act as indicators of our success.

One of the most popular framework for goal setting is the SMART model which tells us that well structured goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Setting goals offers the advantage of direction, allowing you to focus all your efforts into accomplishing a particular task. Furthermore, identifying your goals also makes it easier to identify distractions that do not align with your objectives. If you haven’t guessed it, merely setting goals does not lead to success, but following the SMART model helps you to develop checkpoints and gather the necessary resources to achieve your goal. Finally, after investing precious time, energy and other resources into achieving your goal, you will feel a sense of competence and confidence in your skill.

2. Personality

Personality is an enduring trait that shapes people’s thoughts, attitudes and behaviours. Your personality can have a significant impact on how you approach goal setting. Although personality is relatively stable, it can change over time with exposure to various life experiences. There are five common personality types: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism.

Openness: This trait refers to the degree of cognitive flexibility or curiosity and an inclination towards novelty and creativity. In short, how open-minded you are to new things or experiences. If you are high on openness, then you may show characteristics such as curiosity and creativity which may help you to find innovative ways to achieve your goals. On the other hand, if you are low on openness, then you will exhibit closed-minded attitudes and behaviours that prevent you from designing SMART goals, accepting feedback and even cause you to give up at the slightest inconvenience. Furthermore, low openness contributes to a timid or cautious approach that may prevent you from taking calculated risks.

Conscientiousness: This trait reflects a person’s capacity to organize tasks, and it involves critical components such as orderliness, self-discipline, and reliability. As you can probably imagine, high conscientiousness can assist with creating SMART goals. As you will be diligent and effective at meeting deadlines and compiling the necessary resources. Comparatively, if you are low on conscientiousness, then you may experience some difficulty with planning and organization and may even find it difficult to control your impulses.

Extraversion: This trait ranges from reserved to outgoing. If you are high on extraversion, you are likely to be talkative, energetic and love socializing. Like agreeableness, high extroversion makes it relatively easy to foster support from others. Notwithstanding, if you are extroverted, your social nature may also facilitate distractions that hinder your goals. That is, you may have trouble setting boundaries and maintaining focus on your own goals. In contrast, low extraversion means you enjoy your own company and may have a few trusted companions. You prefer small groups compared to large audiences. This may be advantageous and allow you to better focus on your goals. However, you can become paralyzed by your own thoughts via overthinking.

Agreeableness: This trait is related to your social behaviour and determines your capacity to maintain pleasant and harmonious interpersonal relations. This factor includes compassion, politeness, and trust. High agreeableness can be beneficial, because it will help you to foster important relationships with your friends, supervisors and mentors to achieve your goals. Social capital or support is essential for success. People with low agreeableness tend to hold grudges and look down on others. Moreover, this lack of interpersonal connectedness means that there is low social ties and support from others that can be detrimental to accomplishing your goals.

Neuroticism: This trait reflects emotional stability. High neuroticism is characterized by overwhelming negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety or depression which threatens emotional stability. If you are high on neuroticism, you may have difficulty controlling or soothing yourself when faced with stressful circumstances. This may make it difficult to focus or persevere when challenges occur. Comparatively, low neuroticism signals confidence and capability to adequately manage emotions. This means that you can keep a ‘level’ head and will not be easily deterred or overwhelmed in the face of challenges. This skill to work under pressure will facilitate goal setting and the ability to take constructive criticism and make the necessary changes to achieve your goals.

Different personality styles are associated with various strengths and weaknesses that will impact your ability to establish and achieve goals. The key is to be self-aware and find the right balance between high and low personality traits, set your goals and identify measurable outcomes within a specific time frame. Don’t be afraid to seek feedback and be willing to make adjustments where necessary.

3. Motivation

Motivation is a psychological state that influences your ability to learn, perform or achieve goals. Motivation can be internal or external. Internal or intrinsic motivation comes from your own desires to participate in an activity due to interest, enjoyment or curiosity. Behaviours motivated by internal desires are thought to be long-lasting, because they align with your values, attitudes and beliefs. On the other hand, external or extrinsic motivation comes from the desire to get external rewards (e.g. promotion, pay increase, status etc) or avoid external punishments (e.g. demotion, pay cut, social exclusion). Behaviours motivated by external rewards are thought to be short-term, as persons will not show interest once the rewards or punishments are no longer available. So, which is better, intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Many studies have shown that intrinsic motivation results in better engagement, performance and even satisfaction, because persons view obstacles as challenges to be overcome. Whereas persons who are extrinsically motivated view obstacles as stressors and negatively evaluate their skills and capabilities. So, are you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? Think about your reaction when faced with challenges, do you think “I need to find a way” or “this is too hard” “why me”?

Now that we’ve reviewed goals and several factors that determine if you carry-out or achieve them, when you set your goals this quarter, will you be an overachiever, coaster or an underperformer?

Overachiever- You are at the top of your cohort or workgroup, and if you aren’t even comparing yourself to others, you are simply at the top of your game. You write your goals down, check-off those objectives and meet your personal deadlines.

The coaster- You are somewhere in the middle of your cohort or workgroup. Average performance is good; however, this means that there is room for improvement. Go back to the guidelines of SMART goals and see if your goals are specific enough and if your measures and resources can be improved.

Underperformer- You are at the bottom of your cohort or workgroup. In this case, you should engage in self-questioning and figure out what is your motivation. Ask yourself what do you want to achieve? and WHY do you want to achieve it? Understanding your WHY will give you a good indication of your motivation style and how that impacts your response to challenges.

Your achievement is determined by the goals you set, personality and motivation. Believe it or not studies have consistently shown that relatively difficult and specific goals lead to higher performance compared to easy goals or a “do your best” attitude. So as you commence the new work year, keep these in mind.