How to set our mindset to better achieve our goals
Scientific litsketch on boosting motivation
Research shows that when you think of achieving a goal as a journey you have completed rather than reaching a destination, you are more likely to continue to behave in ways that are in line with your goal (Huang and Aaker, 2019).
In an experiment, people who have just achieved a goal were randomly divided into two groups. Group One was asked to think about achieving their goal as having completed a journey whereas Group Two was asked to think about achieving their goal as having reached a destination.
Group One that was asked to use a journey metaphor exercised more effort in behaviours that helped to achieve the goal than the second group that used a destination metaphor.
After achieving your goal of losing weight or getting the academic grade you always wanted, you may have fallen back to gaining the weight you lost or getting a lower grade in the next exam. When you think of achieving a goal as reaching the end of a destination, you are more likely to think of the present success and less likely to reflect on your personal growth. This is not ideal for sustaining your effort after having achieved a goal. Instead, think of achieving a goal as completing a path or a journey, a part of the process or a stepping stone, and this will help you to reflect on how much you have grown, learnt and changed during the journey. You will also reflect on all the actions that helped you to achieve the goal. These thoughts will help you continue to work hard and not fall back after achieving the goal.
To get all the mental “juices” out of achieving a goal, think of achieving the goal as completing a journey. When you reach a goal, don’t think it’s the end. Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you!
Huang, Szu-Chi, and Jennifer Aaker. "It’s the journey, not the destination: How metaphor drives growth after goal attainment." Journal of personality and social psychology 117, no. 4 (2019): 697.