Goals That Support Wellbeing

Goals and Wellbeing

Importance of Goals

  • Research indicates goals are crucial for wellbeing.
  • Lyubomirsky's research: People striving for personally significant goals (e.g., learning, career change, raising children) are happier than those without strong ambitions.
  • Happy people usually have a project they are working on.

Quality of Goals

  • The quality and content of goals matter.
  • Goals supporting wellbeing should be:
    • Authentic
    • Intrinsic
    • Approach-oriented
    • Harmonious/Congruent
    • Flexible
    • Include change of activity
    • Have an intimacy component

Authentic Goals

  • Goals should align with personal values, not imposed by others (parents, friends, partners).
  • Avoid externally or extrinsically regulated goals.
  • Goals focused on money, power, or avoiding guilt are less likely to increase happiness.
  • Authentic goals lead to greater happiness.
Achieving Authenticity
  • Ensure goals match values and strengths.
  • Steps:
    1. Consider a life domain (studies, work, family, health, hobbies).
    2. Identify a loose goal in that domain (e.g., spending quality time with friends).
    3. Use top strengths to help achieve goals. Using strengths promotes authenticity.
    4. Example: Using humor or kindness to spend quality time with friends.

Intrinsic Motivation

  • Goals should be intrinsically motivating: interesting, enjoyable, inherently satisfying.
  • Pursue goals because they are rewarding, satisfying, and meaningful.
  • Intrinsic goals facilitate personal growth.
  • Extrinsic goals are pursued for money, ego boost, power, or fame.
  • Extrinsic goals are a means to an end (gaining reward or avoiding punishment) and can cause anxiety and interpersonal problems.
  • Find a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic goals, being aware that extrinsic goals are less satisfying.

Approach vs. Avoidance Goals

  • Frame goals as approaching a desired outcome rather than avoiding an undesirable one.
  • Example:
    • Approach: Become fitter and eat healthier.
    • Avoidance: Avoid putting on too much weight.
  • Example 2:
    • Approach: Spend more quality time with partner.
    • Avoidance: Not to fight with partner.
  • Avoidance goals are linked to less happiness, more anxiety, and distress.
  • Approach goals promote wellbeing, while avoidance goals detract from happiness.

Goal Harmony/Congruence

  • Goals should complement one another.
  • Conflicting goals (e.g., aggressive career climbing vs. family time) can cause stress.
  • Emmons and King found that goal conflict relates to somatic complaints (headache, stomach ache) and stress.
  • Goal conflict reduces the likelihood of acting on or thinking about goals, leading to dwelling on problems and goal ambivalence.
  • Solution: Stop overthinking, start acting, and ensure goals are congruent.

Goal Flexibility

  • Be flexible and adaptable with goals as life circumstances change.
  • If goals cause excessive stress, consider giving up commitment rather than effort.
  • Carver and Scheier: Giving up effort instead of commitment is short-sighted and self-destructive.
  • Focus on replacing burdensome goals with more valuable ones.
  • Giving up commitment frees time and energy for more valuable goals.

Activity Goals

  • Pursuing activity goals leads to greater happiness.
  • Changing circumstances (e.g., new car or laptop) does not provide lasting happiness due to adaptation theory.
  • People adapt to circumstances but not new experiences.
  • Activity goals (e.g., joining a running group) provide continuous new challenges and opportunities.

Intimacy Goals

  • Goals related to intimacy (e.g., being a good listener or role model) are linked to greater happiness.
  • Power goals (e.g., convincing others you are right) counteract personal happiness.