BOOK
SUMMARY 359
Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals
Who
hasn’t set a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of the year, only to be
disappointed a few weeks later at the difficulty and challenges involved in
following through? We’d like to believe that this year will be different and
we’ll be more committed and persevere through the temptations of skipping a
workout or having that extra slice of stuffed pizza. Well, after reading Heidi
Grant Halverson’s book, Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals, this
time really can be different.
Dr.
Halverson is a social psychologist whose research on motivation and
goal-setting makes her highly qualified to provide suggestions as to what works
and what doesn’t. Her book is a practical how-to guide with hands-on advice on
increasing our chances for hitting our targets.
The Golden Egg
Pump up that Self-Control muscle
"Use
it or lose it. Your self-control muscle is just like the other muscles in your
body. When it doesn’t get much exercise it becomes weaker over time. But when
you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger
and stronger and better able to help you successfully reach your goals."-
Succeed, page 194
Halverson
provides several ways to exercise our self-control so it is ready for the
avalanche of obstacles that we face when trying to reach our goals. One of her
suggestions is to take on a small challenge such as standing up straight or
doing 100 sit-ups a day. The act of consciously trying to do this will
reinforce our willpower and enable us to tackle bigger tasks.
Besides
giving it a regular workout, we can also boost our discipline by observing or
thinking of a person we know that has lots of willpower. She calls this contagion,
the act of influencing from watching. An additional self-control boost is
anything that enhances our mood. She describes a study in which participants
were given a small gift (a reward) following a difficult task. The reward
boosted their self-control reserves, allowing them to perform an additional
unpleasant task.
But
similar to our muscles, self-control can get depleted if it is over-worked. We
shouldn’t attempt too many goals at the same time, such as working out and
dieting. Our willpower can be overwhelmed by too many demands at the same time.
“Immediately after you’ve put it to the test, you will be more vulnerable than
you usually are to temptations, distractions and other pitfalls that can throw
you off track.”
She
goes on to explain that most people fall prey to their weaknesses (such as
overeating or not working out) at the end of the day, once they’ve exhausted
their self-control reserve. Knowing this, we can plan ahead for these potential
self-control traps and set-up a strategy such as If-Then plans to alleviate
such bad influences.
Gem #1
Make If-Then plans to help with goal execution
"Planning
when, where and how you will take the actions needed to reach your goal is
probably the single most effective thing you can do to increase your chances of
success."- Succeed, page 177
No
goal is achievable without a plan. Spelling out exactly what needs to be done
along with how and when can greatly increase your chances of success. Many
times the biggest obstacle to achieving our goals is seizing the opportunity to
act. Halverson’s solution to this obstacle is setting up If-Then plans, which
work as follows: If I am in this situation, then I will take this action. An
example would be: If it is 6 p.m. on Monday, then I will go to the gym.
According
to the author, If-Then plans work because they help us seize the moment.
Creating these specific strategies helps our brain to detect when opportunities
arise in the day to act on our goals. Studies performed by her and other
researchers confirmed that setting up these If-Then plans dramatically
increases the odds of reaching our targets.
If-Then
planning also “conserves our most precious motivational resource: our self-control
strength. Anytime our unconscious mind can take over, detecting situations and
directing our behavior without conscious effort, it is far less taxing and
requires less willpower.”
Gem #2
Focus on improvement not perfection
"When
we focus on getting better, we take difficulty in stride—using our experiences
to fuel our improvement. People who pursue growth often turn in their best
performances because they are far more resilient in the face of
challenges."- Succeed, page 75
Halverson
breaks down the types of goals people usually set into two types:proving
yourself (be good) and improving yourself (get better). Be
good goals are about trying to prove yourself, such as how smart you are at
school or work when compared to everyone else. Get better goals are about
self-mastery. It’s not about a particular outcome, but more about improvement
and how much progress has been made. Based on her research, it seems that
people who set get-better goals have more resilience and perseverance.
Focusing
on getting better goals allows us to handle challenges and obstacles much
better, providing another boost to our self-control muscle. “When the road gets
rocky, people who are focused on proving themselves tend to conclude that they
don’t have what it takes-and give up way too soon.”
So
before skipping that next workout, create an If-Then plan and seize the
opportunity. Reach for this invaluable book if you’re serious about achieving
your goals and making this year count. “You can be more successful in reaching
your goals than you have been in the past. Make success happen.”
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