{"id":52398,"date":"2021-11-01T13:36:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T17:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=52398"},"modified":"2021-11-08T11:43:46","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T15:43:46","slug":"goal-oriented-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-oriented-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Goal-Oriented Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why do we often act in ways that thwart progress towards our goals? What do people who act in accordance with their goals do differently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Maxwell Maltz, the author of Psycho-Cybernetics<\/em>, the main reason people self-sabotage themselves by engaging in behaviors that directly contradict their goals is that their goals don’t align with their internal programming. This incongruence, he argues, is down to their self-image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll explore the role of self-image in goal-oriented behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Negative Self-Image: Why We Self-Sabotage <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Maltz, all we need to do to achieve success and happiness<\/a> is to decide on an appropriate goal and let our brain work like a machine<\/strong> that\u2019s been directed to work on a specific action\u2014it will automatically<\/em> direct our thoughts and actions towards reaching that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, things aren\u2019t that simple<\/strong>: You may decide to achieve a goal, but deep down, your brain may not be programmed to achieve that goal<\/em>. Maltz argues that your conscious goals often differ from your internal programming<\/strong>. For example, your conscious goal may be to make friends (results in success), but your internal programming might lead you to push people away (results in failure). This conflict between your conscious goal and your internal programming leads you to unhappiness and a feeling of failure because you can\u2019t move past your internal programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maltz argues that when your conscious goals differ from your internal programming, you engage in self-defeating behaviors that thwart the goals you\u2019ve set for yourself. You\u2019ll recognize this in instances of self-sabotage<\/a>. Obvious forms of self-sabotage include procrastination (when you avoid taking action to achieve your goals<\/a>) and unhealthy habits such as overeating when your goal is to lose weight, or overspending when your goal is to save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does this incongruence between your conscious goals and your internal programming occur? Maltz argues that it\u2019s down to your self-image<\/strong>. Your self-image defines who you are<\/a>, how you express yourself, and how you act in any given situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, consider an experience such as falling over. You could either say to yourself, \u201cI fell over\u201d (a fact that won\u2019t impact your self-image), or you could say to yourself, \u201cI\u2019m a klutz!\u201d (the way you identified with the experience, which will<\/em> impact your self-image, and the way that you express yourself\u2014for example, you may act overly cautious as a result of this identification). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Self-Image Impacts Your Behavior<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to goal-oriented behavior, humans and machines<\/a> differ in one essential way: humans rely on their self-image to interpret the feedback they receive from their environment<\/strong>. Their interpretation of feedback impacts the way they approach their goals and doesn\u2019t always lead to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maltz argues that the self-image is continually reinforced by what he calls \u201cfeedback loops\u201d\u2014how feedback reinforces learned behavior and programming\u2014and draws parallels with how cybernetic machines incorporate feedback<\/a> to operate successfully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machines process feedback so that they can achieve their goal. Once they achieve the goal, they store their successful feedback (memory of successful attempts) and discard their negative feedback (memory of mistakes). Their <\/strong>memory<\/em><\/strong> of successful attempts creates a feedback loop that allows them to \u201clearn\u201d quickly and operate efficiently and successfully<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, unlike a machine, humans rely on their self-images to interpret feedback<\/a> to their behavior. Your self-image decides<\/em> whether to release negative feedback so that you operate successfully <\/strong>(behave in a way that results in success), or to remember and reinforce negative feedback so that you operate inefficiently <\/strong>(behave in a way that creates failure). If your self-image decides to focus on negative feedback, this can lead to programming that causes you to reinforce negative patterns of behavior that work against what you want to achieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n