Why We Set Goals and Forget About Them?
The Science Behind It and Solutions
We all have goals for our life.
Like many, I have tried various methods of setting and pursuing goals. I found both inspiration and challenge in the discipline it requires. This journey isn’t just about the goals themselves but understanding our relationship with them.
Setting goals is common for personal and professional development. Yet, many of us forget the goals shortly after making them.
Why does it happen? What can we do to remember and achieve our goals effectively?
The Role of the Brain:
We want instant gratification.
Our brain is wired to choose immediate rewards over long-term benefits, this is rooted in our survival instincts. Humans living in caves prioritized immediate gains like food to ensure survival. This mindset was influenced by uncertainty about their next meal. But in the present, we have everything to survive. But now instant gratification affects our long-term planning.
This bias is known as “Present Bias.”
When we focus on the present (Instant Gratification), it is difficult to focus on the future (long-term goals).
The Overwhelm Factor
When you make big goals, two things happen in the brain.
- Your brain triggers fear.
- Your brain resists.
Setting too many goals, or over-ambitious goals can lead to decision fatigue. Robert Maurer, in “One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way,” explains that the brain resists big changes. This resistance triggers fear and resistance, causing stagnation.
If you are ready to take tiny and effortless steps you can bypass this frear, making growth achievable and feel easier. In this method, your brain is comfortable and thinks there is no harm in taking steps towards the goal.
When you are taking tiny steps, you are ready to work on goals.
The Forgetting Curve
We forget information when there is no attempt to retain it.
The forgetting curve discovered by Hermann Ebbinghaus shows that over time we forget the information that we don’t try to remember.
This simply means you will not remember goals if you do not regularly -
- Read them.
- Write them.
- See them.
Repeat your goals daily to remember.
Lack of Clarity and Commitment
Specificity wins.
When we have clear, specific goals we remember them easily. Vague objectives like “Get fit”, “Save Money”, or “Make friends”, provides no roadmap to you. You don’t have the unurgency to achieve these goals.
When you say:
- I will lose 5 kg in 5 months by working out daily in the gym.
- I will save $100 every month by investing in mutual funds.
You feel the urgency, you have a timeline and you know exact numbers, because when you can measure it, you can achieve it.
Inadequate Planning
No plan, no path to walk on.
When you don’t have a plan it is like trying to build something without instructions. We might have all the goals written down but no idea how to put them practically.
A plan is like a map, it shows us steps and directions with each step. Plus, every time we look at this map, it helps us to remember where we are going and why we are moving towards our destination.
Without a clear plan detailing the steps to achieve a goal, it’s easy to lose track. Planning helps us remember goals, it builds confidence and self-belief.
Environmental Cues and Reminders
Our surroundings can either help us remember our goals or make us forget them.
If you are trying to stay fit but your freeze is full of junk food, you will eat it, but if you keep healthy meals around you, you are more likely to eat it.
To achieve our goals, we must surround ourselves with cues related to them. These cues will remind us of what we need to achieve.
I try to surround myself with :
- Goal tracker on my table.
- Mind map of goals on the wall.
- Journal on the study table.
They keep reminding me that I still need to work a lot on the goals, my journey so far, and what I need to do next.
Conclusion
Forgetting goals is common. Understanding why we forget goals and what to do about it can make a difference. To remember goals, make them clear, take small steps, surround yourself with cues, and keep on repeating them. We can use many tools to track our processes and keep on working on them.
I hope this was helpful, if you learned something from this, follow for more. let’s keep learning and sharing.
