I’m A Human Behavior Professor and I Have Bad News About That Goal You Just Set

Here’s what other human behavior experts won’t tell you

Photo by Estée Janssens

It’s easy to set goals. Reaching them is difficult. That’s because people often misunderstand the process of goal-setting and how to change for the better. As a human behavior professor, I see people inadvertently set themselves up to fail.

11 Questions Self-Aware Leaders Should Ask Themselves Daily

Here’s is what other human behavior experts won’t tell you about achieving goals:

1. Trying to motivate yourself usually doesn’t work. Motivation is fickle. It ebbs and flows with your energy and emotional state. You should focus on developing self-control instead. Self-control is a learned skill that is shown to help you make positive decisions with less stress. Using a commitment device, or making a choice in the present that locks you into a future behavior, is one of the best ways to develop self-control. Deleting social media apps from your phone or wearing gym clothes to bed are two examples of commitment devices that can increase your chances of success, even when you…