Luckily, the other way to increase Expectancy helps alleviate learned helplessness as well. Part of why goals can seem unachievable (and thus low Expectancy) is that they seem too big. What does "learn programming" even mean?

To avoid this, break your goals down and keep breaking them down until they reach the point where they're hilariously easy . If they're easy, but still have a high value attached to them, you'll find it much easier to find the motivation for starting.

Say you want to learn design. You find Karen Cheng's guide to learning design , but accomplishing that whole list is a pretty big goal, so you start with the goal of getting through her first recommendation, " You Can Draw in 30 Days ." Even that might feel daunting. So you start with the goal of doing three drawing exercises from the book. That feels more achievable while still being attached to the high Value goal of becoming an employed designer.