Goal Setting Is Hard, But Not Impossible
Goal Setting Theory: The 3 Elements That Help You Achieve Your Goals
Clear goals can be a powerful tool

Mastering a new language, getting back into shape, or studying for an upcoming exam are all good reasons to set goals. But what are the most effective strategies for getting there? What is the best process for achieving your goals?
The answer to that question is quite nuanced, but with research and practice, you can achieve anything! To simplify things, there are three interrelated elements of goal setting theory: motivation, commitment, and self-regulation.
1. Motivation
- The force that gets you started in the first place
2. Commitment
- Your willingness to see things through
3. Self-regulation
- Your discipline and persistence in doing what it takes to achieve your goal
When these three elements are combined in the right way, they help you steer towards a specific goal. These three elements expand and complement each other, so you can use them together or separately.
For example, if you have a big presentation coming up at work, you may decide to focus on increasing your commitment rather than increasing your motivation.
This is because while motivation may wax and wane, commitment is behavior that stays constant over time. Ambition can be inspiring to others but it’s not reliable over the long term.
If you want to achieve your goals, it’s important to set clear-cut and measurable objectives.
In this post, I discuss goal setting theory and provide strategies for making your goals more achievable.
The rate of success of any goal depends on three important factors: the clarity with which we understand the goal, our commitment level towards that goal, and the importance we attribute to it.
To achieve your goals it’s important to have a proper goal statement. A good goal statement should;
Be realistic and challenging, clearly define the action required to achieve the stated objective as well as specify what will happen if/when you fail to do so, give you feelings of satisfaction when you accomplish it and allow you to categorize the achievement in categories like ‘behind’, ‘ahead of schedule’ or even ‘okay’.
That’s why it is important to categorize your goals according to type and level of achievement.
Making your goal statement as clear as possible will greatly help you in achieving the goal.
But it is not all about the statement of the goal. It is equally important to have a clear understanding of how you are going to achieve your goal.
Goal-Setting Is Hard, But Not Impossible
One of the biggest challenges people face is figuring out how to achieve their goals. There are so many possible ways that you can get to your goals, with so many resources available, and it is often difficult to choose which path to take.
The best way to start figuring out how you can achieve your goal is by using the 80/20 principle. This principle states that 80% of the results usually come from only 20% of the effort.
To apply this principle to your goal setting, identify what is important to achieving your goal and what can be left out or minimized. This will help you concentrate your energy on the factors that have the most impact without burning yourself out trying to do everything at once.
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J.D Rehbein-Wrightstein founder of The Savytech articles is a writer who loves to help people discover their hidden potential as well as their true purpose in life. He inspires and educates people on living an awesome life with inspiring articles. Connect with him on Twitter for more!






