Goal Setting - My Disappointing Discovery


Goal setting has become almost an industry in itself with countless books and techniques available online and in published form promising to help you achieve your most cherished desires. I have read many articles and looked at many products in the course of keeping up-to-date in my profession.

In much of the material, authors refer to a study conducted at Yale in 1953 in which the graduating class were asked if they had clear, written goals. 3% of the students said they had written goals, 13% had goals they had not written down and 84% had no clear goals.

At the class reunion 20 years later, further investigation discovered that the 3% with written goals were worth more than the other 97% put together!

A striking story indeed, and one which is commonly used to illustrate the power and necessity of writing down goals. I was planning to use it on my website and decided that I needed to know more about this fascinating study. It was a disappointment, therefore, that on looking into it more closely, a simple search on Google brought up many claims that the so-called research never in fact took place and that the source of the statistics cannot be found!

So that has blown my fabulous introduction to goal setting for my coaching and courses! It does not, however, affect my responsibility to my clients to ascertain before they embark on coaching that their goals are realistic and achievable at the same time as being challenging and exciting.

Andy Britnell is an executive coach who works with businesspeople in both the private and public sectors who wish to achieve better results. See my website at http://executive-coaching-for-business-growth/goal-setting.html for some useful goal setting strategies.

Sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter Grow and Learn at http://andybritnell.co.uk/ for short and incisive tips on better understanding yourself and others.

Previous newsletters can be found at http://www.andybritnell.co.uk/resources/index.html


MORE RESOURCES:

Forbes

Is Everest Climber's Death A Case Of Goal Setting Gone Terribly Wrong?
Forbes
But what about more quotidian examples of goal-setting and their effects on our well-being? Does choosing to metaphorically scale Everest make us stronger and more resilient or do pie-in-the-sky ambitions set us up for failure and disappointment?

and more »


Goal setting is an art form
Naples Daily News
By JAN KANTOR Goal setting is the art that makes everything else achievable. It gives you energy, focuses your talent and structures your time. To be successful, you must be goal directed. Once you have set goals, you have a script for meeting ...



Council discusses strategies to balance the budget
Sun-Sentinel
The final day for goal setting was May 17 and council and staff had to figure out strategies to balance the $5 million Boca Raton budget shortfall. No new plans or actions emerged, but nothing was nailed down, either. "We don't know if we will or will ...



Free life skills program available to educators
WTVC
"The Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program" is designed to help educators teach communication, decision making and goal setting skills for middle and high school students. It was developed and administered by the nonprofit Community for Education ...



Ten years marks time of reflection and goal setting for Baarsches
Minnesota Farm Guide
Note -- Robert Baarsch was featured 10 years ago in Minnesota Farm Guide Producer Progress Reports. Here is a look at what he and the members of Next Generation Pork are doing now. SPRING VALLEY, Minn. – Robert Baarsch has always appreciated hog ...



ABWA January Meeting - Goal Setting
The Valley Business Journal
Goal setting is the first step towards successful goal achievement. It marks your first point towards success. It is what puts your life into real action mode. Whether your goals are personal, professional or a bit of both, this meeting can help you ...



Gamasutra

Beyond fitness: New frontiers for improving health through video games
Gamasutra
Goal-setting or reward apps are only the beginning, not the sum of the whole. "There's this real ability to present to people what those differences might be, so that's good; one doesnt exist without the other right now," Sawyer says.



Siskiyou Sensation: Jaegel vaulting to the top for Mount Shasta
Siskiyou Daily News
They have taught me some of the most valuable life lessons such as working hard, optimism, determination, goal setting, leadership and teamwork. Besides track, what other sports do you like taking part in: Basketball, swimming, volleyball, ...



Only in print: May 21
Daily Ardmoreite
Page 1 Living in Primetime: Goal setting and life-long learning: One of the many goals of educators is to contribute to making “life-long learners” of students. Page 7 These stories you'll find only in today's print edition of The Ardmoreite.



'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation
CNN
Academics are based on applying past lessons to future problems, on planning, on delaying gratifications, on work coming before play and on long-term goal-setting. Guys are also totally out of sync in romantic relationships, which tend to build ...

and more »

Google News

Acne - Advertising - Aerobics & Cardio - Affiliate Revenue - Alternative - Attraction - Auction - Audio Streaming - Aviation - Babies & Toddlers - Beauty - Blogging & RSS - Book Marketing - Book Reviews - Branding - Breast Cancer - Broadband Internet - Muscle Building - Careers & Employment - Coaching - Coffee - College & University - Cooking Tips - Copywriting - Crafts & Hobbies - Creativity - Credit - Cruising & Sailing - Currency Trading - Customer Service - Data Recovery - Dating - Debt Consolidation - Debt Relief - Depression - Diabetes - Divorce - Domain Names - E-books - Ecommerce - Elder Care - Email Marketing - Entrepreneurialism - Ethics - Exercise - Ezine Marketing - Ezine Publishing - Fashion & Style - Fishing - Fitness Equipment - Forums - Games - Goal Setting - Golf - Grief Loss - Hair Loss - Happiness - Hardware - Holidays - Home Improvement - Home Security - Humanities - Humor - Innovation - Inspirational - Insurance - Interior Decorating - Internet Marketing - Investing - Landscaping & Gardening - Language - Leadership - Leases & Leasing - Loans - Lung, Mesothelioma & Asbestos - Management - Marketing - Marriage & Wedding - Meditation - Mobile & Cell Phone - Mortgage & Refinancing - Motivation - Motorcycles - Music - Negotiation - Network Marketing - Networking - Nutrition - Organizing - Outdoors - Parenting - Personal Finance - Personal Tech - Pets - Philosophy - Photography - Poetry - Politics - Positive Attitude - PPC Advertising - Press Release - Pregnancy - Presentation - Psychology - Public Speaking - Real Estate - Recipes - Relationships - Sales - Sales Management - Sales & Teleselling - Sales Training - Satellite TV - Science - Security - SEO - Site Promotion - Small Business - Software - Spam Blocker - Spirituality - Stocks & Mutual Funds - Strategic Planning - Stress Management - Structured Settlements - Success - Supplements - Taxes - Team Building - Time Management - Top7-Or-10-Tips - Traffic Building - Vacation Rentals - Video Conferencing - Video Streaming - VOIP - Wealth Building - Web Design - Web Development - Web Hosting - Weight Loss - Wine & Spirits - Writing - Writing Articles - Yoga

Top
Main Home Email Category Home