• Less extreme solutions can also include following a “don’t break the chain” strategy.
• Once you’ve set your daily plan, keep a tally of how many days in a row you’ve followed it. The goal is not to miss a day.
• If you do, reset your tally and start over.
• For goals that...

• A stressful deadline to come up with a creative solution can hurt. The goal itself occupies so much space in your working memory that you have little left to try out new possible solutions. In these cases, you’re better off in a relaxed state with minimal distraction.
• One way is to s...

• Early research on goal-setting found that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between difficulty and performance.
• This means that easy goals lead to weak efforts, but so do goals that are too hard.
• The key factor here seems to be that goals need to be challenging, ...

• The key is to break down your goals into smaller, daily actions. If you know what needs to be done today, you’re in a much better position to act on it.
• It is even better is if you can create a compelling incentive to stick to the daily plan.
• A powerful tool for overcoming p...

• They argue that many of the goals we pursue are only partially our own.
• We chase them because we feel we should, but they are somewhat “alien” to our deeper selves.
• Since these goals mainly just fulfill social expectations, they are harder to motivate ourselves toward consi...

Imagining obstacles in advance and deciding your response can make those responses more effective when the time comes. Since your motivation is usually highest when setting the goal, this planning can keep you from abandoning your goal when things get difficult.