1. Aim for Hard, but Believable

For over four decades, psychologist Edwin Locke has been central in research on goal-setting. His research has three consistent findings:

• Setting goals improves performance.
• Hard goals improve performance more than easy ones.
• Specific targets work better than simply trying to “do your best.”
• Thus the best goals to set are those that demand effort from you, but you’re confident you can achieve if you put in the effort.