Science says superachievers donât set avoidance goals.
LA
10 hours ago7 min read
We all have goals, but the real magicâor the maddening frustrationâlies in how we frame them. Itâs a subtle psychological pivot that separates those who merely aspire from those who actually achieve, a distinction that feels deeply human when you talk to people about their daily struggles.A study published in PLOS One cuts to the heart of this, sorting our ambitions into two fundamental camps: avoidance goals and approach goals. Avoidance goals are about stopping or preventing something undesiredâthink âstop ignoring interpersonal issues between employeesâ or âstop watching so much TV.â Theyâre defensive, born from a place of lack or fear. Approach goals, on the other hand, are about adopting a new, positive behavior: âComplete the most important task on my to-do list every dayâ or âEat at least one serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner.â The research found that people who set approach goals were significantly more likely to stay the course, and the reason is almost poetic in its simplicity. Itâs more satisfying, more inherently rewarding, to move toward something you desire than to constantly wrestle with running away from something you dislike.I remember a conversation with a friend who was trying to cut back on her evening social media scroll. She framed it as a battle of willpower, a nightly âstop,â and it felt like a chore she consistently failed.It was only when she shifted her goal to âread 20 pages of a novel each nightâ that the change stuck. She wasnât avoiding her phone; she was approaching the quiet pleasure of a story, and the phone naturally lost its grip.This isnât just a productivity hack; itâs a fundamental reorientation of our psychology. For decades, I was hooked on Diet Mountain Dew, drinking it from morning to night.When I decided to change, I didnât tell myself to stop. Instead, I made a small, positive rule: âDrink water with my protein bar and banana for breakfast.â Later, I extended that rule to lunch, then dinner. The result was, of course, drinking less soda, but the experience was entirely different.I wasnât engaged in a war of attrition against a can of pop; I was simply choosing water, building a new ritual that felt good. The same principle applies to more complex interpersonal habits.If youâre a manager who tends to avoid simmering conflicts between team members, donât vow to âstop ignoring issues. â That sets up a dynamic of guilt and avoidance.Instead, make it your goal to actively build a stronger sense of camaraderie. You might decide to spend fifteen minutes each day working alongside the feuding employees, not to mediate, but to share in the work.
#goal setting
#approach goals
#avoidance goals
#psychology
#productivity
#behavioral science
#featured
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A leader I once interviewed told me about assigning two clashing reports to a high-reward, collaborative project; the shared positive goal quickly ironed out their differences far more effectively than any reprimand or avoidance ever could. The beauty of this approach-goal framework is its transformative potential.
Just about every negative injunction can be flipped into a positive pursuit. Want to spend less time isolated in your office? Make it a goal to walk the shop floor first thing every morning, greeting people and asking one genuine question.
Want to reduce mindless snacking? Approach the goal of preparing a beautiful, healthy snack plate each afternoon. The underlying mechanism is elegant: by doing *this*, you naturally have less time, opportunity, and mental bandwidth for *that*.
Itâs a strategy of creative displacement, not grim denial. This aligns with broader psychological insights about habit formation and the human need for autonomy and competence.
When we frame goals as approach-oriented, we tap into intrinsic motivationâweâre doing something because itâs inherently rewarding or aligned with our values, not because weâre punishing ourselves. It feels more like freedom and less like restriction.
The consequence of ignoring this nuance can be a cycle of failed resolutions and diminished self-trust. People who constantly set avoidance goals may find themselves in a perpetual state of frustration, viewing their desired changes as battles against their own nature.
In contrast, cultivating the skill of reframingâof asking âWhat do I want to move toward?â instead of âWhat do I want to stop?ââfosters resilience and a more compassionate, effective relationship with our own ambitions. Itâs a lesson that extends far beyond personal productivity, hinting at how we might better structure team objectives, educational frameworks, or even public health campaigns.
Ultimately, the science of superachievers suggests a profound yet accessible truth: the path to change is best paved with intention, not prohibition. Itâs a lot more fun, and infinitely more sustainable, to start doing something you genuinely want to do than to endlessly police yourself against something youâve decided you shouldnât.
