Goals & Motivation

According to Robert Franken, in his book, Human Motivation: "We use goals to achieve what we want in life, the cornerstone of attaining personal success is mastering the art and science of goal-setting."

The information on this page is adapted from Franken's textbook on Human Motivation.

Two kinds of goals - Long-term goals are those you are reaching for, but are far away.  For example, your long-term goal is to pass into the next grade in June.  To be successful at that, you have to work on your short term goals.  Your short term goals are to do your homework and pass all the tests in the grade you are in.  When you have to do homework you don't want to do, and remember that the reason you are doing it is so that you can learn what you need to know to pass to the next grade level, you will be more motivated to do what has to be done.  A longer term goal is what you want to be when you grow up.  Whatever you want to be when you grow up requires short-term goals of getting your homework done and passing one test at a time.  If you are really excited about what you want to be when you grow up, and remember it when you have to study for a test, you'll be more motivated to do what it takes to do well on the next test.

We need both kinds of goals.  Long-term goals are associated with emotion, and tend to be what we "dream" about doing.  We need short-term goals to keep us on track.  Without short-term goals, we get distracted and turn our attention to things that may seem fun in the moment, but don't lead us toward our dream.  For example, you are studying for a test, and a friend calls on the phone.  You decide to talk to them instead of studying because "right now'' it's much more fun than studying.  But, if you want to pass into the next grade, it is studying, not talking on the phone that will lead you where you want to go.

I don't feel like it - Our feelings should not be ignored, because they are often a good source of information.  We need to become aware of our feelings and decide if they make sense.  We don't always have to do what we feel.  If it's not the best thing, then decide what the best thing is and do that instead.  For example, you just don't feel like doing your math homework.  Is that the best thing for you right now?  If it is due in a week, maybe you don't have to do it right now.  But, if it's due tomorrow, you can realize that the best choice for you right now is to finish your math.  Doing it now is better than the bad feeling you will have when you don't have it to turn in.  The pain of doing it now is worth the pleasure of knowing that you have completed it on time.