Setting goals is easy; sticking to them is the hard part. According to motivation researcher Ayelet Fishbach, the problem is often goal design. The way you frame and structure a goal has a direct impact on how motivated you feel to pursue it, and poorly designed goals quietly set you up to quit before you ever get started.
The good news is that a few evidence-based tweaks can turn a weak, vague goal into a strong, motivating goal—one that genuinely drives you forward. Keep reading to discover three research-backed strategies for setting goals that can keep you focused, energized, and moving in the right direction.
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How to Set Motivating Goals
In Get It Done, Ayelet Fishbach asserts that the way you design your goal matters—and that you’re more likely to succeed when you set goals that motivate you to pursue them. This is because goals guide your actions and decisions: Well-designed goals help you stay focused and show you how to achieve them. In contrast, poorly designed goals don’t make it clear what you need to do and cause you to get frustrated and give up on them.
(Shortform note: In NLP: The Essential Guide to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, the authors explain that vague goals prevent you from acting by creating confusing or conflicting representations of what you want. They also cause you to focus more on obstacles. For example, if you want to “get in shape,” you might have conflicting images of how you want to look, feel confused about which exercises to do, and fixate on obstacles such as not having time or energy.)
Fishbach is a psychologist and a leading researcher in motivation science and goal pursuit. She provides three strategies for creating a motivating goal: Focus on outcomes, frame your goals positively, and add specific numbers. Let’s explore each of these strategies in detail.
Strategy #1: Focus on the Outcome
First, Fishbach contends that a motivating goal is an outcome, not a stepping stone toward an outcome. This is because outcome-focused goals paint a picture of what you want in life, which excites you and makes you more motivated to do the work to achieve them; you’re more likely to stick to your goals when you think about the good things that will happen rather than the difficult steps you’ll encounter.
To create an outcome-focused goal, frame it in terms of the benefits you want instead of the costs of getting there. For example, instead of saying “My goal is to write 500 words a day” (which focuses on the work), say “My goal is to become a published author” (which focuses on the reward). However, be careful not to make your goal too abstract. When a goal is too vague, it turns into a fantasy rather than something you can work toward. The best abstract goals describe what you want to achieve while still helping you see the steps you need to take to get there.
| Focusing on Goals Versus Systems While Fishbach encourages you to focus on outcome goals rather than the steps to get there, James Clear in Atomic Habits argues the opposite—that you should focus on systems (your daily behaviors and routine) rather than goals. Clear offers three reasons. When you achieve a goal, you often stop the behaviors that got you there, making the change temporary. For example, if your goal is to become a published author and you achieve it, you might stop writing regularly because you’ve reached your target. But, if you focus on building a system of writing every day, you’ll keep writing after your first book is published. Focusing solely on goals delays your happiness. You feel satisfied only when you publish that novel, not during the months or years you spend writing it. In contrast, when you focus on improving your writing system, you feel accomplished each day you stick to your routine. Goal-focused thinking creates tunnel vision where you see only one path to success and potentially miss better opportunities along the way. For example, if you focus on becoming a published author through traditional publishing, you might overlook self-publishing, freelance writing, or other forms of content creation that could also lead to a fulfilling writing career. Systems thinking opens up multiple pathways because you’re focused on becoming a better writer, not just achieving one specific outcome. With all this in mind, you can consider using both approaches together strategically: Use Fishbach’s outcome focus to generate excitement and commitment at the start, and then shift to Clear’s system focus to maintain consistent daily action. |
Strategy #2: Frame Goals Positively
Fishbach’s second strategy for designing a motivating goal is to frame it positively rather than negatively—that is, to focus on things you want to achieve instead of what you want to avoid. This is because we tend to feel more motivated when working to achieve something good because it feels rewarding, whereas avoiding something unpleasant feels like a chore. For example, “I want to be more productive” is typically more motivating than “I want to stop being lazy.”
However, avoidance goals can still be effective in certain situations, such as when safety is at stake (e.g., quitting smoking to prevent health problems). Your personality also plays a role in which type of goal motivates you more. Fishbach explains that people tend to fall into two categories:
- Pursuers are driven by the chance to achieve or gain something.
- Preventers are motivated by avoiding mistakes or setbacks. For preventers, avoidance goals can work well.
| How Mindset Can Affect How You Should Frame Your Goals Besides your personality, your mindset can also affect which kind of goals work best for you. In Mindset, Carol Dweck says people have either a fixed mindset (they believe their abilities can’t change) or a growth mindset (they believe they can improve through effort). If you have a fixed mindset, you might gravitate toward avoidance goals because you’re focused on avoiding mistakes. This is because you see failure as proof you’re not good enough. Therefore, a goal such as “I don’t want to fail this test” might feel more urgent and motivating than “I want to ace this test.” If you have a growth mindset, you might find achievement goals more motivating. You feel excited about the possibility of getting better at something, and failure matters less to you. Therefore, you’ll likely get more motivated by positive goals such as “I want to learn Spanish” than negative goals such as “I don’t want to embarrass myself by not knowing Spanish when I travel.” While both types of goals can be motivating, Dweck argues that a growth mindset allows you to reach your full potential, while a fixed mindset holds you back. So, even if you’re currently motivated by avoidance goals, practice growth mindset thinking (such as seeing mistakes as learning opportunities) to shift your focus from avoiding failure to pursuing success. |
Strategy #3: Add Numbers to Your Goal
While your overall goal should focus on an outcome, Fishbach recommends adding numerical benchmarks to help you track progress toward that outcome. Numbers support your goal by creating clear milestones and helping you understand how to use your time, money, and energy most effectively to reach the goal.
Fishbach explains that numbers motivate us because of how our brains work. We naturally fear falling short of a target more than we enjoy going over it—a psychological bias called loss aversion. So, a specific number serves as a clear marker of whether you succeed or fail, and your brain treats falling short of that number as a loss. This fear of loss pushes you to work harder than if you had a vague goal.
(Shortform note: Research shows that we feel losses twice as powerfully as equivalent gains. The reason is that losses were more life-threatening to our ancestors, so we adapted to care about them more. For example, losing food meant potential starvation, and losing shelter could leave someone exposed to the weather or predators. As a result, natural selection favored individuals who were more sensitive and responsive to potential losses, making them more likely to avoid actions that could result in harm.)
Fishbach says you can create numerical benchmarks for your goals in two ways:
- Amount—This focuses on the quantities you want to achieve.
- Time—This focuses on deadlines or duration.
For example, your outcome goal might be “become a published author,” but you could add numerical benchmarks such as “write three chapters each month” (amount) or “complete my first book by December” (time).
Fishbach suggests you decide which is better to use for your goal. For example, if you want to become a better runner, setting an amount benchmark (running for three miles) might work better than a time benchmark (running for 30 minutes). Choose numbers that challenge you enough that success isn’t guaranteed, so you know you’ll need to work to achieve it.
(Shortform note: These numbered benchmarks serve as what Cal Newport calls leading metrics. In Deep Work, Newport distinguishes between leading metrics [which give you real-time feedback you can act on] and lagging metrics [which tell you only the final result after it’s too late to change anything]. Your outcome goal—such as “become a published author”—is essentially a lagging metric because you know that you succeeded only at the end. Newport adds that leading metrics should be visible in your workspace, such as marking off hours spent writing on a whiteboard, because seeing your progress motivates you to keep going and helps you celebrate small wins.)
Fishbach says you should set your numbers rather than letting others set them for you. She acknowledges that it can be helpful to get advice from experts, but make sure you have the final say. This is because we often feel more committed to benchmarks we set for ourselves. In contrast, those that others impose on us make us feel as though we’re being controlled, which can give us the urge to do the opposite—even if those benchmarks are good for us. This is a phenomenon called psychological reactance.
(Shortform note: We tend to want to rebel when someone else sets our targets because it directly undermines our sense of autonomy, or our feeling of being in control. Autonomy is one of the three basic psychological needs that drive motivation, according to the self-determination theory. The others are competence [mastering skills] and connection [belonging with others]. When all three needs are met, we feel more motivated, perform better, and feel more satisfied while working.)
Wrapping Up
Designing a motivating goal doesn’t have to be complicated. By focusing on outcomes rather than steps, framing your goal around what you want to gain, and anchoring it with specific numbers,you give your brain exactly what it needs to stay engaged and push through. Small shifts in how you set your goals can make the difference between giving up in week two and actually seeing things through. So, before you set your next goal, take a few extra minutes to design it well. Your future self will thank you.
To learn about maintaining your motivation and increasing your chances of achieving your goals, read Fishbach’s Get It Done and Shortform’s guide to the book, which includes analysis, counterarguments, connections to the ideas of others, and a practical exercise—all of which help you understand and implement Fishbach’s strategies.
Exercise: Design Your Motivating Goal
Take a goal you’re currently working toward (or one you’ve been putting off), and run it through these three steps.
Step 1: Shift to the outcome. Write down your goal as it stands right now. Then ask yourself: What’s the real reward I’m after? Rewrite it to focus on that end result rather than the work involved. For example, “exercise three times a week” becomes “feel strong and energetic every day.”
Step 2: Flip it positive. Read your rewritten goal and ask: Am I chasing something I want, or avoiding something I don’t? If it’s framed negatively, rewrite it as an achievement. “Stop wasting time” becomes “build a focused, productive daily routine.”
Step 3: Add your numbers. Now ask yourself: How will I know I’m making progress? Add at least one numerical benchmark—an amount, a deadline, or both. “Build a focused, productive daily routine” becomes “build a focused, productive daily routine by blocking two hours of deep work every weekday for the next 30 days.”
Your outcome should look something like this:
- Original: “Stop wasting time.”
- Redesigned: “Build a focused, productive daily routine by blocking two hours of deep work every weekday for the next 30 days.”
Take five minutes right now to redesign one goal using these three steps, and notice how different it feels compared to where you started.
