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I like the article but I'm always a little shocked when someone has put this much thought into a subject and either hasn't even looked at, or at least doesn't m
by freshhawk 14y ago
I like the article but I'm always a little shocked when someone has put this much thought into a subject and either hasn't even looked at, or at least doesn't mention, all the recent research that has been done around goal setting and motivation.
There was a really interesting study recently that compared two methods of motivation for a habit/activity. The methods were goal setting and cultivating an appreciation for the activity itself.
The goal setters improved faster and more of them had stuck with it after a short period of time. After a longer period of time the appreciators were just as proficient as the goal setters and more of them had stuck with it. A lot of goal setters quit in the medium term.
I remember the explanation being that goal setting drove better performance faster but the habit was more fragile and missing goals or reaching a plateau resulted in more quitting, while the appreciators just kept plodding along because they enjoyed it and were more successful long term.
I had no google luck finding that study again, and I have to get back to doing some real work but if anyone recognizes it please post the link.
I can't be only HN user who appreciates these types of articles when they tie in interesting facts a lot more than those that just have a well written argument based on personal experience and anecdote. Maybe that's just my bias towards science over self help?
- argonz 14y agoI got very interested and tried to find out but haven't suceed. So I just second it that I would be very interested reading that study!
- freshhawk 14y agoFound it, added the links to the end of my original post
- freshhawk 14y agoFound the links: The article I probably read: http://99u.com/articles/7198/How-Goals-and-Good-Intentions-Can-Hold-Us-Back http://99u.com/articles/7198/How-Goals-and-Good-Intentions-C... The study: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597812000222 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597812...