The best-known secret to being successful is to have clear goals with measurable increments for reinforcement. In addition to the magic of setting goals, we must be empowered to attain those goals if we aspire to move toward excellence. Positive-psychology researchers have identified strategies for harnessing cognitive processes for goal setting and goal attainment.
Our minds are composed of multiple cognitive systems that in isolation and in specific combination have evolved to serve our need for adaptation. This cognitive modularity underlying our mental processes is generally outside of awareness. However, by identifying the cognitive modules, we are able to identify how best to utilize them to help us attain our goals.
Topics in the text below:
Implementation Intentions
Self-defining Goals
Non-conscious goals
Mindsets
Peter Gollwitzer, psychology professor at NYU, has been conducting some wonderfully illustrative research in the area of the modular nature of our mental processes. He identifies four particular categories of thinking: Implementation intentions, Self-defining Goals, Non-conscious goals, and Mindsets.
Implementation Intentions
Implementation intentions help us attain our goals by employing our natural action-taking abilities. When we set specific goals with a realistic actionable timeframe, we can directly harness the power of the action-taking aspects of our thinking, avoiding interfering contingencies. For example, when we connect the implementation behavior to an environmental trigger, we will act without thinking about whether or not we want to act. Our action-taking is triggered by setting an imperative command for action. Utilizing intention to implement goal-attainment behavior is a highly effective strategy with over three times the success in goal attainment than other goal-setting strategies.
A fascinating aspect of implementation intention is that it only requires making a simple instruction to yourself. The simple construction of an imperative such as, If (Blank) then I will (Blank), is sufficient to engage our activation module. For example, the implementation intention — if it is seven o’clock, I will go for a walk — is sufficient to result in at least a three-fold increase in the likelihood of taking a walk. This verbal imperative seems to engage a semi-conscious activation command. You are basically programing yourself to do something and this comes about with little subsequent conscious mediation.
This enhancement of goal attainment is limited to goals we really wish to attain, and that are attainable. This limitation reflects the disparate nature of our motivations and desires. The implementation intention increases goal attainment when we have a firm commitment to the goal and the capacity to effectively implement the goal. When we are conflicted about a goal, then the implementation intention will not enhance goal attainment significantly. However, if we are willing and able, the implementation instruction can easily set aside older, no longer, valued habits.
Self-defining Goals
Self-defining goals are global aspirations for attaining an ideal or desired identity. When we set a self-defining goal, it can profoundly sustain our striving toward the desired self. According to Gollwitzer,
“Committing oneself to a self-defining goal (e.g., becoming a good lawyer, mother, scientist) instigates an enduring striving toward possessing the desired outcome.”
Self-defining goals underlie the pragmatic humanistic goal of seeing ourselves as unfolding throughout our life, toward Flourishing.
Non-conscious goals
We are comprised of multiple motivations that shape our actions outside of awareness. The complexity of the social and environmental demands on human beings has led to the evolution of multiple motivation systems. These motivational systems represent distinct and sometimes disparate goals. We must each have an understanding of the complex and conflicted nature of human need and desire in order to set and attain our goals.
Mindsets
Mindsets reflect the state-dependent nature of awareness. We continually shift mindsets as we move from one task to another. Although these shifts are generally subtle, they nonetheless profoundly influence cognitive processing. Various cognitive processes, when activated, will evoke a distinct mindset. For example, when we are problem solving we remain open minded; when we shift into goal attainment, we become self-confining, narrow and focused. Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, explores the relationship between self-image and mindsets. When we have a self-image of flexibility, we are adaptive and able to grow and learn. Where our sense of self is tied to a fixed set of abilities, we tend to be locked into perspectives that are not as adaptable.
Gollwitzer identifies deliberation and implementation as two distinct and contrasting mindsets. The mindset of implementation is focused and narrow, whereas the mindset of deliberation is open and curious. Deliberation is an open, cognitive mindset that is able to ponder and consider multiple options and perspectives before making a decision. Deliberation is an adaptive mindset for exploring potential goals because it is an open and curious mindset, allowing for ambiguity. Goal implementation is a much narrower analysis than the wide deliberative stance. Implementation involves defining and creating the specific steps in order to attain those chosen goals. According to Gollwitzer,
“the deliberative mindset leads to an accurate and impartial analysis of information that speaks to the feasibility and desirability of possible goals, whereas the implementation mindset promotes an optimistic and partial analysis of such information.”
The cognitive research by Gollwitzer reveals how we evoke a mindset that is optimal for the task or problem at hand. We can direct our mentation by setting up the way we are going to think about something. For example, in problem-solving a deliberative mindset is best, whereas in task attainment an implementation mind set is optimal. However, to flourish we must be able to balance the use of these two strategies. We must be able to shift from deliberation into implementation in order to increase the likelihood of attaining our chosen goal. However, implementation without prior deliberation results in rigid re-enactments.
Excellence requires that we recognize our present mindset and shift into alternative mindsets when we need to obtain different results.