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Goal Setting and Wellbeing

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A look at goal setting in the context of lifebalance and wellbeing

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MaslowPsychologist Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth.  Maslow described self-actualized people as those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for personal growth that is present throughout a person’s life. 

For Maslow, a person is always “becoming” and never remains static in these terms.  In self-actualization a person comes to find a meaning to life that is important to them.

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5 Ways to WellbeingSummary of evidence by NEF (2008 - 400 scientists’ work reviewed)- suggests these are major factors

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ConnectWith the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and

neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of

these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them.

Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

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Be activeGo for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance.

Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical

activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

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Take noticeBe curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the

changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work,

eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and

what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate

what matters to you.

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Keep learningTry something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take

on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or

how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving.

Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

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GiveDo something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile.

Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in.

Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can

be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around

you.

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A whole range of factors determine an individual’s level of personal well-being but evidence indicates that the things we do and the way we think can have the greatest impact.

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Finding our goals

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• Each segment gets labelled with an area of importance, in which you want to set goals

• Areas of life that are important to you for example: artistic expression, positive attitude, career, education, family, friends, financial freedom, physical challenge or public service.

• Remember to include fun things, interests and hobbies for example as they are areas of learning.

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Wheel of life

An example

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Wheel of life

A quick example

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Wheel of life

The unshaded areas are where we can set goals

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Can be used to plot likely impact of changes - here a change of job

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Also unanticipated benefits - here mapped for someone learning IT

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Alignment

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Can highlight issues - here a single mother of a young child has concerns about going back to work

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Here are the goals, these themselves get broken down into actions

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• What’s the Brain Chemistry of setting goals?

• According to the research of psychologists, neurologists, and other scientists, setting and visualising a goal invests ourselves into the target as if we’d already accomplished it.

Neurologically, then, our brains treat the failure to achieve our goal the same way as it treats the loss of a valued possession. And up until the moment the goal is achieved, we have failed to achieve it, setting up a tension that the brain seeks to resolve.

In some cases by abandoning the goal.

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• Love, Loss, Dopamine, and Our Dreams

The brain's functions are carried out by a stew of chemicals called neurotransmitters, Dopamine is one of them.

Dopamine acts as a motivator, creating a sensation of pleasure when the brain is stimulated by achievement.

So dopamine plays a key role in keeping us focused on our goals and motivating us to attain them, rewarding our attention and achievement by elevating our mood. We feel good when we work towards our goals.

Conversely, loss or the frustration of our desires starves us of dopamine, causing anxiety and discomfort.

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• The Neurology of Ownership

When we own something, we invest a part of ourselves into it – it becomes an extension of ourselves.

This phenomenon is called the “endowment effect”, occurs when we take ownership of an object (or idea, or person); in becoming “ours” it becomes integrated with our sense of identity, making us reluctant to part with it (losing it triggers that dopamine shut-off discussed = pain).

Interestingly, researchers have found that it doesn’t require actual ownership or even possession to come into play. In fact, it’s enough to have a reasonable expectation of future possession for us to start thinking of something as a part of us – as jilted lovers and 5-year olds denied a toy at the store have all experienced. 26

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• The Upshot for Goal-Setters

The bigger the potential for positive growth a goal has, the more anxiety and stress your brain is going to create around it’s non-achievement – i.e. you will feel the pain of failure and loss until you achieve the main goal, unless you break it down into steps.

But the fact that the brain rewards our attentiveness on by releasing dopamine means that our brain is working with us to direct us to achievement. Paying attention to your goals feels good, encouraging you to spend more time doing it.

But ultimately our brain wants us to achieve our goals, so that it’s sense of who we are can be fulfilled.

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What have we learnt about Goals?

• Visualise main goals keep revisiting them - “endowment effect” will reinforce even the smallest behaviours towards them

• Break them down into small steps to get Dopamine reward e.g.

• What can I do this week?• What can I do in the next 24 hours?• What can I do NOW?

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G.R.O.W. ModelDevised by Sir John Whitmore, the GROW model is deservedly one of the best known and widely used goal setting tools.

Goals - Reality - Options - Will

It is useful for both personal and professional goals and from what we’ve learnt about “endowment effect” and Dopamine we can understand the psychology of how it works.

By asking questions around the model, you can clarify what you want to do, and how you can get there.

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Goals•What do you want to achieve?•Where do you want to be in 5 years time?•What is your ideal scenario for the future?•What do you want to be different in 6 months time?•What do you want to be different by the end of today?

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Reality1What is your current situation? (Vs. goals you have described)2What are your strengths and development needs?3What have you done to shift the situation?4What do you feel about where you are now?

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Options1What choice do you have (ways of moving towards your goal/s)2Which ones are in your control?3Which ones are in your influence?4What other options exist?5Who do you need to influence? 6What resources do you need?7What might you do if you had optimum resources?8What will happen if you stay as you are?

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Will1How committed are you to making this work? (Scale of 1-10) and why?2What will keep you on track and motivated?3What will stop you achieving it?4How can you overcome that?5So, how committed are you now? (Scale 1-10)

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Here's a 2 minute speed-coaching session using GROW.

Coach : What area would you like to discuss?Client: I'd like to do some more exercise (Topic)Coach: And what would you like out of the coaching session? (Question to establish the goal.)Client: I'd like to commit to take some regular exercise.Coach: Where are you now when it comes to exercise? (Reality question)Client: I'm not running as regularly as I'd like. I'm not doing some kind of exercise every day. Coach: So if you'd like to commit to take regular exercise (the goal of the session) what are your options?Client: I've got a heart-rate monitor I could learn how to use. I could get the bike serviced. I could try a bit of running. I could find an event in the future that I could aim for.Coach: Out of all of these options which are you committed to taking forward? (Narrowing down the options).Client: I'd like to find an event to aim for. There's a 60 mile cycle ride coming up in 3 months time I'd like to aim for that. I'd also like to work out how to use my heart-rate monitor, as that would get me out as well.Coach: so what will you do between now and the next time we talk? (Wrap-up)Client: I'll call John to find out when the cycle event is and I'll get the application form filled in. I'll also spend half an hour tonight working out my heart-rate monitor.

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Locus of Control

Locus of control is a theory in personality psychology referring to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them, theconcept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954.

A person's "locus" (Latin for "place" or "location") is conceptualised as either internal (the person believes they can control their life) or external (meaning they believe that their decisions and life are controlled by environmental factors which they cannot influence).

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Locus of Control• Internal linked to good emotional health• Can change in response to events - “Tsunami”• Can change positively through thinking style, “evidence” of

own performance• Cannot control everything but can control our responses and

actions • Viktor Frankl: “Everything can be taken from a

man but ... the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

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Viktor Frankl• A prominent Viennese psychiatrist before the war,

Viktor Frankl was uniquely able to observe the way that both he and others in Auschwitz coped (or didn't) with the experience.

• He noticed that it was the men who comforted others and who gave away their last piece of bread who survived the longest.

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• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004.

• Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.[1]

• In August 2011, Time listed Seven Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".[2]

Independence• Habit 1: Be Proactive• Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how

they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind• Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values

and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life. Create a mission statement.

• Habit 3: Put First Things First• Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on

importance rather than urgency. Evaluate.

Interdependence

• Habit 4: Think Win-Win• Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements

in your relationships. Value and respect people.

• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood• Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person,

which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you.

• Habit 6: Synergize• Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so

as to achieve goals no one person could have done.

Self-rejuvenation

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw• Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to

create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle.

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What is work?• work/wərk/Noun: Activity involving mental or

physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

•• Verb: Be engaged in physical or mental activity in order

to achieve a purpose or result, esp. in one's job; do work.

• Synonyms: noun.  job - labor - business - labour - occupation - employmentverb.  operate - labor - function - labour - run - go - make

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Is Work Good for You?There is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being. Worklessness is associated with poorer physical and mental health and well-being.

Work can be therapeutic and can reverse the adverse health effects of unemployment. That is true for healthy people of working age, for many disabled people, for most people with common health problems and for social security beneficiaries.

Overall, the beneficial effects of work outweigh the risks of work, and are greater than the harmful effects of long-term unemployment or prolonged sickness absence. Work is generally good for health and well- being. Gordon Waddell, CBE DSc MD FRCS

Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research, Cardiff University, UKA Kim Burton, PhD DO EurErgCentre for Health and Social Care Research, University of Huddersfield ,UK