Why Goal Setting Works and How To Set Your Next Goal

When it comes to improving your health and wellness, one of the most powerful tools you can use is goal setting. Goals provide you with direction, motivation, and a clear path to success. But why are goals so important, and how can you set them effectively? Let’s dive into the science and strategies behind creating goals that will keep you motivated and on track for the long haul.

Goal Setting Theory: The Science Behind It

According to the widely respected Goal Setting Theory by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, we look at two distinct areas when setting goals: firstly, how specific they are and secondly, how challenging they are. They postulated that clearly defined, challenging goals help direct your attention, boost your effort, and increase your persistence and performance over time. 

Conversely, vague goals like “I want to be healthier” rarely create real, lasting change. Without specificity or urgency, your brain simply doesn’t know where to focus your efforts. But when you set a clear target—something you can see and measure—you give your brain a roadmap for success.

Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman has shared in multiple episodes of the Huberman Lab Podcast that dopamine—the "feel-good" neurotransmitter—is key to motivation.

When you set and achieve even small goals, your brain releases dopamine. This reinforces the behaviour and makes you want to keep going. It's a built-in system of progress and reward that’s wired into our very biology. In other words, every small goal you check off? It’s not just productive—it’s chemical encouragement.

With these two theories in mind, we start to form an easy-to-follow recipe for creating goals which are designed to help you succeed. Firstly, we need to break up our goals into long-term, medium-term and short-term goals, which gives us small ‘bite-sized chunks’ to tick off, leading to that dopamine hit and encouraging us to tackle the next one. Secondly, we need to make sure each goal is as clear and specific as possible. 

Clear, personalised goals help keep you motivated, even when things get challenging, because they reconnect you with why you started.

Step 1: Identify Your WHY

Before setting any goal, think about your motivation. Why do you want to improve your health? Maybe you want more energy to keep up with your family, you have noticed your health is not what it should be, or you keep getting sick, or you would like to reduce stress for better mental health. Having a strong "why" keeps you grounded when motivation dips. We need to scrutinise each goal and peel back the layers as to why you would want to achieve this particular goal and what kind of satisfaction it would give you once achieved. Once we've found our WHY it's usually easy to start to strategise the how and when.

Step 2: Identify your goals ( The Big Ones First)

As I mentioned before, it’s important to break your goals up into three tiers: long-term, mid-term and short-term. Think of them like nesting dolls, they should each fit into one another. I like to start by thinking BIG, what are your overarching goals you are looking to achieve in the next year or 2 or even 5? Once you have a good idea of that, then start to look at what steps you would need to take in a month ( or how about our 6 weeks?), these would be your mid-term goals. Finally, with short-term goals, these are actions which need to happen daily or weekly in order to reach the larger goals within their predetermined timeframe.

Remember, it's important not to set too many BIG goals all at once; rather, choose one or two long-term goals which fit realistically into your lifestyle.

1. Superordinate (Big-Picture) Goals

These reflect your why. They reflect your values and long-term identity shifts.

Example: "I want to live a vibrant, active life for the long term."

Tip: These don't always need an exact deadline; they serve as your North Star.

2. Intermediate (Mid-Term) Goals

Outcome goals that move you closer to the big picture.

Example:  "I want to lose 5kg over the next 2 months."

Tip: These are perfect to align with structured programs like a 6-week wellness challenge.

3. Micro (Daily or Weekly) Goals

Tiny, achievable habits that you can hit consistently.

Example: "I will prep healthy lunches every Sunday evening for the next month."

Tip: Micro goals create momentum and positive reinforcement.

Here’s how you might layer goals for different aspects of your wellness journey:

Eating Better

• Superordinate: "I want to nourish my body with whole foods."

• Intermediate: "Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables daily for the next month."

• Micro: "Prep a veggie-packed lunch 4 days a week."

Exercising More

• Superordinate: "I want to feel strong and energised every day."

• Intermediate: "Do 3 strength sessions per week for the next 6 weeks."

• Micro: "Follow an Inspired Movement workout video every Monday at 8AM."

Improving Sleep

• Superordinate: "I want to wake up feeling rested and clear-headed."

• Intermediate: "Sleep 7–8 hours a night for the next 30 days."

• Micro: "Turn off screens at 9:30 PM and stretch for 10 minutes before bed."

Reducing Stress

• Superordinate: "I want to feel calmer and more in control of my emotions."

• Intermediate: "Practice deep breathing or meditation 5 times per week."

• Micro: "Use a 5-minute breathing video after work on weekdays."

Step 3: Create clear goals ( Be SMART)

Setting goals gives you a clear direction. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the idea of "getting healthier" or "improving fitness," a specific goal breaks the process into manageable steps. According to research published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, people who set clear, specific goals are more likely to stick to their health and wellness plans than those who don’t. Having specific goals makes it easier to hold yourself accountable. Whether you’re tracking your water intake, steps, or sleep hours, measurable goals allow you to see where you’re succeeding and where you might need to refocus.

So, how do you set clear goals? By using the SMART Goal strategy.

SMART goals are:

Specific

Each goal needs to be as specific as possible. When we look at a goal such as ‘ I want to get stronger’, it is not very specific, and there is no quantifiable way to assess your progress, so when we set goals, we need to have clear wording and a well-thought-out goal. We could change the goal to read “ I would like to improve my push-up performance”

Measurable

Our goals need to be measurable, which means that there needs to be some quantifiable element involved in the goal, a number, value or measurement. For example, with our goal above, wanting to get stronger is vague and unmeasurable. We could add, “ I would like to be able to complete 10 more push-ups during a minute push-up test”

Achievable

We all want to be able to do amazing things and find ultimate success. However, we are all faced with challenges and limitations that present themselves in various ways. For example, injuries, financial constraints, geographical or logistical limitations, relationship or family commitments, etc. So when we set out our goals, we need to be honest with ourselves and set goals that we know we would be able to achieve given our current circumstances. This does not mean the goals should be easy ( or worse, non-existent ), but we may need to be realistic in our approach. Again, our push-up example can be used, say the goal setter had recently had a shoulder operation, and the doctor has suggested limited movement for the first 3 weeks post-op. Setting a goal for increasing push-ups within a four-week time frame would be unachievable, but perhaps increasing the time frame to 6 months may make the same goal more realistic.

Relevant

Relevance is of paramount importance, both for achieving larger goals but also to enhance motivation. If you set a goal that does not resonate with you, serves no purpose in relation to achieving bigger goals and doesn’t enhance our quality of life, then is the goal really worth pursuing?

Time Bound

It is always important to adhere to some kind of timeline with your goals, as this keeps you striving and motivated. Open-ended goals often lead to a lack of commitment and apathy for completing daily tasks. We need to always be specific about a time frame for each goal. Our example could be “ I would like to be able to complete 10 more push-ups in a minute push-up test in 6 weeks.“

Goal Setting Prompts: Reflect Before You Set Your Goals

Before jumping into goal setting, take a moment to reflect with these powerful questions:

• What do I really want my life to feel like in 6 months?

• What’s one health habit I know that would make a difference right now?

• What feels realistic and kind to myself at this stage?

• What would I be proud to say I achieved by the end of this month?

• If I had more energy, how would I spend it?

Common Goal-Setting Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)

Even with the best intentions, some common mistakes can derail progress. Here's how to stay on track:

• Too Big, Too Fast: Don’t try to change everything in one day. Break goals down. “Exercise every day” becomes “Move for 30 minutes three days a week.”

  
  

• Not Tracking Progress: Some form of tracking helps us to see our progress and subjectively assess how our goals are going. Use journals, apps, or simple habit trackers.

  
  

• No Emotional Anchor: Remember to tie your goals to a deep why—your health, family, confidence, or future self.

  
  

• All-or-Nothing Thinking: Remember, consistency is better than perfection. Life happens, and that’s okay. If you hit a roadblock, don’t give up. Reassess and adjust your goals as needed to keep moving forward

• Not having support: We don’t always feel motivated and determined every day, which is why we sometimes need someone else supporting us, encouraging us and reminding us why we are on this path.

Setting goals is more than writing a list—it's about creating a personal framework that turns your goals into reality.

If you are ready to set your own goals and take actionable steps to a healthier you, why not sign up for my 6-Week Thrive Challenge to kickstart your path to wellness?