Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals

by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Read Heidi Grant Halvorson's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.

Just in time for New Year's resolutions, learn how to reach your goals-finally-by overcoming the many hurdles that have defeated you before.

Most of us have no idea why we fail to reach our goals. Now Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson, a rising star in the field of social psychology shows us how to overcome the hurdles that have defeated us before.

Dr. Grant Halvorson offers insights-many surprising-that readers can use immediately, including how to:

• Set a goal so that you will persist even in the face of adversity
• Build willpower, which can be strengthened like a muscle
• Avoid the kind of positive thinking that makes people fail

The strategies outlined in this book will not only help everyone reach their own goals but will also prove invaluable to parents, teachers, coaches, and employers. Dr. Grant Halvorson shows readers a new approach to problem solving that will change the way they approach their entire lives.

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Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Productivity, Business, Leadership

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson is a social psychologist who researches, writes, and speaks about the science of motivation. She is the Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia Business School, and author of the best-selling books:

Succeed: How We Can All Reach Our Goals, Nine Things Successful People Do Differently, Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing The World for Success and Influence (co-written with E. Tory Higgins), and The 8 Motivational Challenges.

HGH is also a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, 99u, Fast Company, WSJ.com, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and Psychology Today.

In addition to her work as author and co-editor of the highly-regarded academic book The Psychology of Goals (Guilford, 2009), she has authored papers in her field’s most prestigious journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, European Journal of Social Psychology, and Judgment and Decision Making. She has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation for her research on goals and achievement.

HGH is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and was recently elected to the highly selective Society for Experimental Social Psychology. She gives frequent invited addresses and speaks regularly at national conferences, and is available for speaking and consulting engagements, primarily in education, marketing, and management. She received her PhD in social psychology from Columbia University

Reviews

[Amora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heidi, an academic at Columbia University, presents evidence here that making goals not only increases our happiness, but also improves our health and cultivates skills. Heidi presents the reader with multiple ways to achieve goals (and how not to) and what goals we should set for ourselves. Most of the scholarly data presented in the book was conducted by the author herself and is extremely solid. Great book!

[Mitton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is NOT a clichéd self-help book.

In a similar vein to Piers Steele’s book “The Procrastination Equation” and Kelly McGonigal’s “Maximum Willpower” Heidi Grant Halvorson’s “Succeed” is written by an academic (day-job when not scribbling is that of a Social Psychologist).
And just like those other two books, Grant Havorson’s ”Succeed” distils the results of published dry academic research papers (that no one outside of an academic institution would be likely to get their hands on or understand) into something that tells in engaging English what factors have been found by academics to work in helping people set and attain goals.
Succeed is not a quick fix, it is simply written but treats with a complicated subject presenting ideas and bona fide statistics that have come from academic studies and asks you to consider them on an entertaining journey into what social psychologists have published as results of research.

This element of ‘meta-analysis’ is what sets this book and the two mentioned above from the drudgery and snake-oil salesmanship of the likes of (for example) “Brian Buy My Books Tracy” or “Paul Look Into My Eyes McKenna” or “Tony Yeah You Can Do It Easy if You Buy My Book Robbins” approaches.
No spoiler here, but consider this as an example from the book – a large group of German students were asked to write an essay over the Christmas Holidays and post in the essay to the tutor within two days of Christmas Day. Half of the students were in addition given an additional instruction, and that was before they went off on holiday they were asked to write down where and when they would write the essay. Of the students who were not asked to write down (or plan) where they would write the essay – i.e. they had no particular plan asked of them WHEN or WHERE to write their essay 31% sent in an essay, of those who were asked to write down where and when – 71% of these students sent in an essay. More than twice as many. This is no urban myth, this is a published paper and this result has been repeated time after time. When you are asked or ask someone else to do something – do you think it might be a good idea to force yourself or ask them to plan EXACTLY where and when you are going to do it? Yup. This is a very minor point in Heidi Grant Halvorson’s book – there is a lot more valuable ‘stuff’ waiting for you if you take the time to buy, read and reflect on these on how to best help yourself succeed in what you want to do and what you need to do.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely a goal-oriented person, so I wondered how reading yet another book on the subject might help me do even better at setting/achieving goals. After all, how complicated can it be, right? Even still, I did glean some useful insight that I hadn't really considered before like, "Don't visualize success. Instead, visualize the steps you will take in order to succeed."

I enjoyed Halvorson's research-based study of goals, though I did occasionally get bored with the details and ended up skimming those parts to get to the practical application of the ideas. I loved Chapter 6, The Right Goals for You, which provided simple strategies to tackle goals when: "you need a kick in the pants," you need it done yesterday," "the road looks very rocky," and other goal-challenged situations we often find ourselves in. Chapter 7 was also useful for business owners, managers, parents or anyone else who needs to influence others to achieve goals.

Overall, I useful guide for anyone interested in understanding the science behind goals and the practical ways you can achieve goals.

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Până acum, m-am cam ferit de tot ce poartă eticheta „Self Help” (doamne ferește, ce, am eu nevoie de așa ceva?!) și iată că am ratat din cauza asta niște cărți cu adevărat interesante, din care pot învăța o sumedenie de lucruri despre mine. Ce-i drept, am avut norocul să nimeresc din prima o carte echilibrată, cu o abordare realistă.

„Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals” nu este genul de carte care te motivează pe moment, pentru ca ulterior să te regăsești în același punct din care ai plecat. Te ajută să înțelegi noțiuni simple despre felul în care funcționează psihicul uman, iar faptul că te înțelegi mai bine declanșează o schimbare în modul cum privești lucrurile: se conturează dintr-o dată câteva direcții noi și etapele pe care e necesar să le parcurgi pentru a-ți atinge scopurile. Bineînțeles, e nevoie de timp și efort, dar partea bună e că pornești la drum cu o mentalitate diferită – una care, cel puțin pentru mine, e mult mai sănătoasă.

Sunt multe observații de bun simț în cartea asta, lucruri care, pentru cineva obișnuit cu introspecția, s-ar putea să fie deja cunoscute – măcar la nivel intuitiv, dacă nu în termeni științifici. Sunt, însă, destule informații noi și unghiuri surprinzătoare de abordare a unor probleme vechi, care m-au făcut să înțeleg o seamă de aspecte legate de mentalitatea mea și de ceea ce aș putea schimba prin punctele esențiale. „Succeed” mi se pare o carte foarte utilă și pentru părinți, fiindcă toate informațiile astea le pot fi de folos în educația copiilor și în felul în care relaționează cu ei.

Puteți citi aici recenzia mai lungă, scrisă pentru blog: http://lecturile-emei.blogspot.com/20...

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[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much of this book is common sense. The selling point here is that this is comprehensive research, but the science is often too light to support the heavy advice based on it.
For example, the author uses the "Biggest Loser" TV show as a model. She claims that the contestants gain weight after the show because their commitment diminishes when the social pressure is removed. Well, some scientists objectively measured what is going on with the Biggest Losers. It turns out that their metabolisms slow down so dramatically that it is extremely difficult for them to keep the weight off. This is outside their control. [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/hea...] So the author's take on something that is a major struggle for millions of people amounts to unfairly blaming the victims. I don't think that's helpful.

[Presto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This won't be your typical mumbo-jumbo self help book, it's scientifically rigorous with lots of great as examples, you will learn quite a lot of important things like:
1) What are goals,how to set one.
2)what sort of goals to be pursued.
3)Goals for Optimists and pessimists.
4)Why perseverance matters more than ability.
5)Types of goals.
6)Why we still fail after lots of efforts.
7)How to mentor.
8)Types of feedbacks and lot more

It will be absolutely worth your time reading this one.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

It wasn't so much the purple cover that intrigued me (I mean, purple is the default wardrobe color for comic book villians) as it was the subtitle: How We Can Reach Our Goals. I had always been troubled that every year I make goals and only achieve a portion of the them. No matter what changes I seem to make, I could never get at the real root of the problem because the percentage of unmet goals would remain more or less constant year after year.

Now I have some answers. Halverson is a social psychologist who brings her research into motivation and achievement to light in a very interesting and thought-provoking way. Her conversational tone is very inviting. She explains the different kinds of goals and how the way we think about how goals helps to shape our success in accomplishing the goals. We need to set the right kind of goals for the situation at hand, and we need to approach them in the right way.

For example, one of the biggest mistakes people make is setting goals to validate their own sense of worth, what Halverson calls be-good goals. Goals designed to make us better people that focus on self-improvement, what Halverson calls get-better goals, have a higher chance of actually being achieved.

Positive thinking is scientifically proven to be good, but also scientifically proven is the increased risk of failure provided by too much optimism, or what Halverson calls "unrealistic optimism." I would just call this arrogance, pride, or cockiness. What Halverson calls realistic optimism, which is scientifically shown to increase the chances for success, is what I would call tempered optimism, or optimism balanced with a sense of practicality.

But as Shakespeare once wrote, "a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet", and Halverson's bouquet is precisely that. All of her assertions are backed up with scientific studies that reveal the right way to approach our goals in order to maximize our chances for success. Some of what she concludes from her scientific work has already been practiced by others for years. For example, David Allen has long asserted the importance of planning -- doing the intellectual work necessary to decide what needs to happen so that when the moment comes all resources can be focused on execution. Halverson's scientific work confirms what Allen has observed over the many years of his consulting practice.

Because our goals involve other people, Halverson also dives into how to provide proper feedback as well as explaining the cultural difference between Asia and the West. I agree with her that our culture values inherent ability so much that we neglect acquired ability and the reality that many Asians accept readily in their own culture -- anyone can be great with enough effort and persistence. Halverson's suggestions for feedback are good for anyone who works with others, whether as an employer, an instructor, or a parent.

What benefited me the most from Halverson's book is her reassurance that sometimes it is healthy to step away from a goal. I had always thought that quitting on a goal meant quitting on my commitment, but Halverson shows that is simply not true. Sometimes changing circumstances demand that we change our direction. The goals we make are only as good as the information and circumstances at the time the goal was made. Things change, and we shouldn't be afraid to walk away from a goal once we determine it is no longer good for us. But Halverson stresses that a key part of this process is replacing the old goal with a new one that is appropriate to the new circumstances in order to maintain our motivation and sense of movement.

All in all, this was a great book, well worth the time and effort spent with it. I would rank it on the same level as Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, because this book is a paradigm shifter. Covey described paradigms as maps, saying that only when our map reflects reality can we plot a true course. That's what Halverson's book is -- a map that more accurately reflects the way we are wired to go after achievement.

If you are responsible for other people and/or you have an interest in increasing your own personal effectiveness, then you must read this book. The conclusions made by Halverson are all based on scientific study, and in each of those instances she explains the circumstances of the studies so that you can follow her along to the conclusions drawn. Although not always intuitive, it is a very straightforward way of thinking about goals and how to reach them. I will certainly be applying the principles of this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally wouldn't have picked up this book, with its boring title and cover. But I'd heard the author, Heidi Grant Halvorson, speak on Laura Vanderkam's podcast, so I figured she'd probably have insightful things to say in this book as well. I wasn't disappointed. The book is full of research-based findings on motivation and strategies for success, not just ideas and anecdotes such as "Work hard!" and "Stay positive!" (There is a discussion on positive thinking in this book.) What's even better is that Grant Halvorson writes in a fun, straightforward way, so it wasn't a pain to read through pages about studies. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to accomplish something difficult, something attempted before but not accomplished, or just some new goal.

[Abeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m decidedly not a self-help books person, though I’m trying to take a leaf out of my brother’s book—the model child—and I’m no expert with my opinions, even if I’m not generous with them.

This was a good read. It is concise, objective and based on research, and quite honestly I would rather get my life advice from a social psychologist than some man who became famous off of yelling profanities on igtv (as fond as I may be of profanities). To be clear... the advice in this book is not anything too peculiar or groundbreaking... in fact, I found that most of these principles I’ve subconsciously known and sometimes applied all my life. I talked about some of them to a friend and she has too. But there’s definitely an advantage to reading them set into concrete psychology language and backed by scientific evidence—actually, as a scientific sceptic, that has been quite important to me, and definitely makes me want to apply them more. One criticism, however, is that some of the claims are backed only by a simple lab study, which is not the most compelling evidence. I have not yet done my research into these studies and how reliable they are. At many occasions, she does reference more than one source, but this is not always the case.

The prose is a bit weak at points, but that’s okay, I know I’m not reading a novel. It has, however, a very conversational and easy to read tone, which is the important thing in this case.

In general, this is good, if not the most life-changing advice. Or perhaps it is life-changing and I’ll find out. I will let you know.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heidi Grant Halvorson has written an unusual book on how we can reach our goals. What makes it unusual is that her book is entirely based on research studies available in the academic psychology literature. I generally appreciate knowing the context or background of why I'm being told to do certain things, so I really appreciated this. This explanation is especially valuable where she makes recommendations that, while based on the empirical literature, are counter-intutive or against received wisdom.

So, why am I giving this book only a 3-star rating? This is because Part Two of the book lacks a practical focus. In this part, Grant Halvorson discusses generally the different types of goals (e.g. be-good vs. get-better goals, or prevention-focused vs. promotion-focused goals). I found this interesting and could see how these categories were useful for analysis. But I really missed the practical bent of how these categories could be used to formulate goals. Looking at the other reviews for this book, this was evidently not an issue for others. Perhaps I lack "the vision thing" or need to have the dots connected for me in an especially obvious way, but the lack of a practical take-away in this part of the book was a problem for me.

Conversely, other parts of the book had a practical aspect that was quite valuable. I especially appreciated Chapter 9 ("Make a Simple Plan") and Chapter 13 ("Give the Right Feedback"). Where the academic literature was joined with a practical take-away, the book was excellent.

I do want to take issue with one of Grant Halvorson's messages, the idea that success in reaching our goals is dependent entirely on effort and not at all on ability. I would seriously qualify this statement. In the category of "ability" I would include a teacher's competence. As Augustine of Hippo is supposed to have said, if a student hasn't learned, then the teacher hasn't taught. One's own effort is often a major determinant of success, but effort cannot overcome everything.

Overall, this is a good book on how we can reach our goals that is grounded in the psychological literature, but a lack of a practical focus in one part of it prevents it from being very good.

[James Shoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It didn't have the cheesy, hokey feel that most self-improvement books I've read do. The author's style was very personal and non-preachy- which is rare for books written by professionals- and the topics were addressed in a very orderly fashion, which is also rare. Her constant allusions to her dislike of exercise were so predictable and not-funny that they were hilarious in a weird sort of way...
Much more importantly, though, is the content! The book is very well researched, and the ideas she presents are fresh and engaging, as well as being very helpful! Some of the tips she presented are already paying dividends to me. I'm very glad I read this book!

[Leo Polovets · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Succeed” is a terrific book about 1) how to think about goals 2) how to set goals and 3) how to work effectively toward goals. The advice and insights are based on scientific studies (as opposed to old wives’ tales and anecdotes). For example, sometimes it’s good to think about the big picture () while at other times it’s better to think about the details (What do I need to do next?); “Succeed” reveals which situations favor one approach over the other. The book is filled with tons of practical, meaningful advice.

[EMP · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I picked this up thinking "Okay, another SH book in an endless stream of me try to get my butt in gear." However, this book made me actually think about myself from a different perspective. I learned some unflattering things including that I set my bar low because I don't want to bother with something unless I know I can be good at it. It annoys me when people use phrases like "life changing" to describe books because it seems so melodramatic, but that's the phrase I thought of when I was done reading this book.

[Pia Bröker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, far from "You can do everything if you just believe in yourself and follow these three steps". The author uses scientific evidence to show what makes people more successful and what less.
It seems a lot more realistic than other books.

This book gives you tools to start and continue working on goals like studying better, spending more time with friends/family, dealing with finance, working "harder", or change habits. But it also explains how to take breaks, when to quit, and other tips for improving mental health.

I did not like that a major focus was on dieting and losing weight, as I don't think that is a goal that can be reached by determination and right planning, and I found the language triggering for people dealing with disordered eating behaviors.

Had to read it for school.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Halvorson has written a book that addressed a big gap in my goal setting practice that I didn't even know existed.

There are many type of goals and rewards. This book clearly illustrated the difference between the types, and most importantly, defined which type of goals should apply to which type of situations.

The first couple of chapters alone on "why" and "what" of goals are worth the book price alone.

I also like how the author uses her personal stories to illustrate her points.

Highly recommended.

9/10

[Meera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how each chapter provided you with self-examination of your goals and motivations. I can't say that I learned anything new really about how to succeed in your goals but the information was framed in a way that made me enjoy reading this book. I also got ideas on how to motivate my children and students better which was unique from previous books I've read.

[Matt Seltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I dug it. Dr. Halvorson goes into some great detail into how one can achieve goals, and, more importantly, how to look at and develop goals that our minds are interested in achieving. The important of the latter is the prevailing theme, as she goes into great detail throughout about things like how time can differ our motivations for near and far goals, or how a fear of punishment is a different motivator from a desire for reward. Much of this comes from our experiences, but regardless of our pre-programming, Halvorson demonstrates the psychological impact that framing goals can have on each of our psyches.

As a marketing practitioner, I especially loved the deep-dives into how language, surroundings, pre-conditionings, etc. can change how motivated we are to commit to an action. That's literally the science-side of the marketing industry.

Definitely recommend for anyone looking to build themselves further into who they want to be!

[Bogdan Korytskyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цікава книжка, яка розглядає різні аспекти того як ми досягаємо цілей і в основному спрямована на ідею того, що цілі бувать просування (що?) та запобігання (як?)

[Brian Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book if you want the scientific low-down on how to effectively set goals and succeed.

“The important thing is that while achieving your goals is a bit more complicated than just doing “Three Things,” it’s not overly complicated, either. In Part 1 of the book, “Get Ready,” I’ll talk about the key principles of goal-setting that seem to be universally true, whether you’re pursuing goals at work, in relationships, or for self-development. In Part 2, “Get Set,” you’ll learn about the different kinds of goals we set for ourselves, focusing on the few distinctions that seem to matter the most. I’ll show you how to choose the goal that will work best for you personally in your situation. And you’ll learn how to instill the most beneficial goals in your children, students, and employees. In Part 3, “Go,” I’ll take you step by step through the most common reasons why we fail to reach our goals once we’ve started pursuing them. And you’ll learn effective, often simple and easy-to-implement strategies for avoiding these pitfalls in the future.

In the last decade or two, social psychologists have come to know a lot about how goals work. Succeed is my attempt to take that knowledge out of the academic journals and handbooks and spread it around a bit more so that it can do some good.”

~ Heidi Grant Halvorson from Succeed

Heidi Grant Halvorson is one of the world’s leading researchers on goal setting. She’s also funny, smart, and down-to-earth.

Succeed delivers on it’s sub-title, providing a lot of Big Ideas on “How We Can Reach Our Goals.” The book is REALLY (!) good–mixing theory with super-practical, *scientifically* grounded advice.

If you’re feelin’ it, I think you’ll LOVE the book. (Buy it on Amazon here.)

Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:

1. The Self-Control Muscle - You can train it!
2. Goal Targets - Specific + difficult but possible.
3. Confidence - In ability and challenges.
4. Daydreaming --> Rockin’ it.
5. Goals Aren’t All Equal - Choose wisely.
6. Getting Better vs. Being good.
7. Visualizing Success - Is it a good idea?

I’ve summarized those Big Ideas in a video review that you can watch here.

And I’ve added Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at heroic.us.

[Bruce Harpham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook to start 2024 on a new note. I've read plenty of books about goals and related topics. Happily, there were new insights for me in this book thanks to the author's research driven approach.

There are several concepts form the book that were particularly helpful:

-Habit Change: making a plan for specifically when and where to perform the habit (e.g. exercise at 6am at the neighbourhood gym) is proven to significantly increase performance at the habit.

-Using different motivational statements: it is helpful to use both why statements (e.g., why do I care about achieving this goal?) and what statements (i.e., what are specific actions I need to do to achieve this goal)

-Visualization. I've heard about visualization before, and this book presented the idea in a new way. Research has found that visualizing the end result (e.g. winning a race) is less effective than visualizing the process involved to achieve the goal (e.g. picturing yourself putting in multiple training sessions over time).

While I found the book quite insightful overall, there were two aspects that I found disappointing. First, the book is best at personal scale habit change (e.g. weight loss, fitness, quit smoking). There was far less discussion of larger scope goals with longer duration (e.g. a 12 month or longer duration goal). I also found it disappointing that many (if not the majority) of the research studies involved college students and children. I gather that using college students in psychological research studies is very common since they are available and relatively easy to access. Still, the book could be improved by including examples of working adults (e.g. a study of 1000 accountants during 'busy season' for example).

[Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Halvorson's book Focus gets a bit repetitive because the author is covering one finding over and over again, Succeed feels the opposite: a bit breathless because Halvorson is now trying to cover several findings to make a comprehensive book about motivation and goals. Despite that, I think the information within is very good. Halvorson covers a lot of ideas that are more exhaustively explored elsewhere: for example, that self-control is like a muscle (Roy Baumeister in Willpower), that our lives are shaped by our beliefs about whether we can improve or our qualities are innate (Carol Dweck in Mindset), and that positive thinking can hinder us in goal achievement (Julie Norem in The Positive Power of Negative Thinking).

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3, maybe 3.5 stars. First half of the book is stronger than the second, which is more focused on applying the principles from the first half and ends up feeling a bit redundant. A few things are slightly dated (my sense is the “self control is like a muscle” thing is no longer how academics mostly think about it) but for the most part a clear presentation of a bunch of the same core ideas you’d encounter in more recent books on habit formation, deliberate practice, giving feedback, etc (though without a lot of the brain chemistry discussion that seems to inform more recent popular books in this space). If you’re looking for one book that touches on this whole range of subjects in an accessible and conversational way, this would be a good choice.

[Angela Randall]

I just found this book from an article on bright young girls. I've heard similar things about bright kids in general, but never thought about how easily it might apply more to girls than boys. And if you've ever tried to control a classroom of kids, you know how easily this can be true.

All kids need to be reminded that effort-based learning is required, not that there's some "smart/not smart" or "good at this/not good at this" switch in place.

[Charles Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

67%

It's weird how she's a psychologist and it could be because this information is stated by 13 years, but a lot of it disagrees with the major understandings and studies that have been found to be the most relevant in the fields of positive success and growth mindset affirmations.

She Doesn't seem to fully understand the difference between the autonomous and the provoking thought system fully.

The book does put out some effort in the arena but, the efforts may be too flawed to be valuable.

[Serena S-L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for a uni class about Motivation. Love the class, love the book. I will be returning to it throughout the year and probably throughout my life. Learned some helpful strategies for when I need a bit more structure to accomplish the goals I set for myself or want to properly encourage the people around me.

[Héloïse Braun · Rating 3 out of 5]

She’s diet obsessed and it’s kinda annoying and toxic but other than that not a bad book if you like self-help/psych books.

Did have to force myself to finish cause it’s a bit repetitive and predictable as a psych major.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this for school but it turned out to be very helpful in my own life. i think everyone should read this book

[Niya · Rating 4 out of 5]

More praise than feedback for the gritty endeavor of summarizing research insights on the value of planning, effort, intrinsic motivation and value attachment for success

[GC · Rating 4 out of 5]

'This book isn't actually just about willpower, however. It's about achieving goals, and self-control is just one piece of that puzzle. Specifically, Succeed is about understanding how goals works, what tends to go wrong, and what you can do to reach your goals or to help others reach theirs.


Heidi Grant Halvorson, a social psychologist, offers a dynamic look at setting goals. Unlike 'Rethinking Positive Thinking' which centres on WOOP, this book offers a much more diverse overview of goal setting research. She structures her work into three parts:

Part One. Get Ready.
Part Two. Get Set.
Part Three. Go.

Each of the chapters concludes with a condensed bulleted pointed summary of that chapter, which is very useful for application.

Part One begins with the oft-forgotten component of applying the rules of travel to goal setting. We might think that we have set goals, and that when we still make no steps forward that goal setting just doesn't work. But Halvorson rightfully questions whether we have actually even formulated a goal or was it some insubstantial, fraudulent imitation:

'The first step to getting anywhere is to decide where you want to go... That seems so obvious that you may be wondering why I bothered to say it... Oh sure, you feel like you've set a lot of goals for yourself, but have you really? Or have you just thought about how you'd like to be happier, healthier, or more successful, without actually deciding what specifically you were going to do about it? You have desires, lots and lots of things that you want to happen, but how many of those wishes have you turned into real goals? Without being translated in to goals, our desires remain just that - things we wish would happen. If your planning never gets any further than "I'd like to go someplace warm," you're probably not going anywhere, are you?'

Continuing in Part One, we learn the importance of setting both specific and difficult goals based on research by Locke and Latham. Halvorson also asks us to consider goals both in terms of 'what' terms and 'why' terms. As she writes, 'When people think about what they are doing in why terms, they are guided by the big picture - their smaller, everyday actions become a part of something larger and more important.' In order to facilitate this why thinking, we must consider the goal we're finding difficult and ask a few questions: What goal does this action help me achieve? How does this goal benefit me? The aim is to see intermediate goals, which may seem trivial or unappealing in themselves, and connect them to larger narrative, big picture goals.
Later, she mentions the most widely known and accepted theory in the the study of motivation, 'Expectancy Value Theory', which states that a person is motivated to do something based on (1) expecting that they are likely to be successful and (2) that they think there is some benefit from it. So if one can enhance those two components, one is more motivated. One feels then that Henry Ford was justified in his assessment, 'If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.'
Halvorson also mentions Gabrielle Oettingen's research, and presents her own great exercise on 'Setting Goals through Mental Contrasting', which involves listing positive aspects of a happy aspect of accomplishing a goal, and then adding an obstacle, and then continuing that cycle of positive aspect and obstacle.


In Part Two, Halvorson presents one of her biggest ideas, the distinction between 'be good' and 'get-better' goals (She has even made a Youtube talk on the latter). 'Be good' goals are examples of performance goals, while 'get better' goals are examples of mastery goals. For someone who pursues 'get-better' goals, they don't judge themselves on the grade that they get, their standard is instead determined by questions like 'Am I improving? Am I learning? Am I moving forward at a good pace?' This pursuit of mastery will nearly always inevitably translate to good grades but it demonstrably changes the self-talk, the desire to pursue deeper questions for their intrinsic interest, etc. As she writes:

'Get-better goals, on the other hand, are all about the journey. In dozens of studies, psychologists have found that when people pursue get-better goals, they find greater interest and enjoyment in what they do. They have a heightened attention to the process, experience, a greater sense of involvement and immersion, and personally value what they are learning more... Studies show that students who find the material interesting are more likely to generate their own questions and seek the answers to satisfy their curiosity. They use "deeper" processing strategies, like looking for themes, connections, and underlying principles in the material they are learning, instead of the more "surface" processing strategies like rote memorization and cramming so favored by be-gooders. They are less likely to procrastinate. And all that active learning and question asking and not procrastinating leads, not surprisingly, to higher achievement. If you choose get-better goals, you have greater success because you enjoy the process of getting better. So sometimes you really can have your cake and eat it, too.'

In the chapter 'Goals for Optimists and Goals for Pessimists', we learn about promotion and prevention goals. Analogous to being good and getting better goals, we can approach the same goals through different lenses. As a professor, Halvorson has saw first-hand this difference in students who wanted to become doctors. Some didn't want to let their parents down (prevention focus) while others had always dreamed of being a doctor (promotion focus). One can combine the two approaches. For example, in quitting smoking, one can begin with a promotion focus, listing the benefits of doing so and then as the months pass use a prevention focus to imagine what will be lost in returning to the habit.

In Part Three, Halvorson explains why we fail to reach our goals and simple ways in which we can avoid that. In this part, she mentions implementation intentions and in a chapter called 'Keep it Real'. she gives a great exercise for being realistic about one's goals. This involves asking: (1) Why you think you will do well, (2) How likely are other people to have that advantage and (3) Think about how you can take control of succeeding or failing.

She also offers the crucial distinction that rather than commit to visualising success, that we should instead visualise the steps for that success. I love this advice, as it still retains the power of visualisation while shifting what it is we apply it to. As she explains:

'I won't name names, but it seems like there are an awful lot of self-help books out there telling people that if they just picture what they want in their minds, it will somehow happen. That would be great if it were true, but scientifically speaking, there really isn't much evidence for it. On the other hand, visualization can be very helpful, if you imagine the steps you will take in order to succeed, rather the success itself. Mentally simulating the process of achieving the goal, rather than the hoped-for outcome, not only results in a more optimistic outlook, but in greater planning and preparation. Picture yourself doing what it takes to succeed, and you will soon you finding yourself believing that you an. The best part is, you'll be absolutely right.'

In summary, Halvorson has laid out the big ideas in the study of motivation. As she mentions in the Introduction, there is sadly not a three-step process that works for everyone. Some people respond better to prevention goals than promotion goals. And that same person might exchange the focus depending on what the goal is. Therefore, goal setting is more nuanced and context-dependent than it might first appear. But Halvorson is more than up to the task in this book of translating the research into actionable guidance.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

让目标变得可达：新一年，如何慎终如始

新年伊始，又到了制定计划的时候。回顾往年，从2020年才开始有了制订年度计划的意识，尽管到2024年末，所有年初的计划都未能成功实现，但相比自我意识觉醒之前，能有这个意识已经是质的飞跃。如今又是一个新年之初，是时候更上一层楼了。那么，如何才能在一年内慎终如始？换句话说，我列出的目标如何才能成功达成？

哥伦比亚学者作家Heidi Grant Halvorson针对这一问题在其作品《成功：如何达成目标》中做出了详细的研究，深入探讨了目标到底怎样发挥作用、影响目标达成的因素，以及如何做才能实现目标。

一、如何设定目标

在设定目标前，先了解以下原则：

1. 制订目标时要明确具体

例如，“减掉5kg”比“减肥”更具体明确。

2. 设定切实可行但具有挑战性的目标

3. 从“为什么”或“是什么”的角度思考目标

①当需要避开诱惑的任务——使用“为什么”思维

②当面对困难、陌生或耗时的任务——使用“是什么”思维

4. 积极思考，但不要低估困难

要相信自己可以实现目标，但也要清楚目标实现的过程可能会复杂且充满挑战。

5. 运用心理对照法设定目标

在设定新的目标时，要同时想象成功的情景，并考虑到可能妨碍你成功的障碍。

二、影响目标和目标设定的因素

了解了制订目标的原则，你还需要了解影响目标的因素，以及弄清楚哪些因素在影响你。

1. 信念

这里有一个新的概念：内隐理论（implicit theories），即关于智力（或个性、道德观等其他特质）的个人信念。

如果你相信智力是与生俱来的、遗传的，或者在儿童时期培养，成人后基本固定不变，那么你是“实体论者”。

如果你相信智力能够通过经验和学习提升，并且通过努力可以获得更多智力，那么你是“渐变论者”。


两者在行为上的表现：

实体论者：过多地精力集中在证明自己上，却放弃了能让人生经历更丰富的机会。

渐变论者：不会执意证明自己聪明，而是通过努力提升智慧，犯错不代表愚蠢，反而是学习和成长的机会。


这意味着，内隐理论能够影响你对目标的选择和实现方式。

2. 环境

环境影响目标的方式主要通过“提示”，触发潜意识去追求某个目标。

在设定目标时，你可以：

弄清楚哪些因素在影响你；

了解你对自身能力的信念；

欢迎改变的可能性；

营造适当的环境；

利用触发因素来利用潜意识。



三、你该设定什么类型的目标

目标并不是简单的“我想……”，不同种类的目标决定了你的动机强烈程度以及实现过程中持久度。

1. 绩效目标和精通目标

绩效目标：展示才华、能力或业绩，超过他人。

精通目标：关注进步与提升某种技能或能力。



不同目标的效果：

聚焦展示才华的目标在遇到障碍时容易气馁，一旦受挫就会放弃。

聚焦精通的目标能专注于“能学到什么”，即便失败也是学习和改进的反馈。



2. 进取型焦点和防御型焦点的目标

进取型焦点：以成就和功绩为目标。

防御型焦点：以安全和避免损失为目标。



这两种目标的影响：

进取型焦点往往能激励人们追求更大的成功。

防御型焦点则主要集中在规避失败和损失。



策略：

在目标选择时，尽量设定精进、进取的目标，辨别当时的焦点并采取适合的策略。

四、什么样的目标对你有益

实现目标并不代表一切，从长远角度看，了解自己要什么以及为何想要目标同样重要。

1. 人类的天生需求

所有人都寻求关联感、能力感和自主感，能满足这三种基本需求的目标，能够带来快乐与幸福。

与社交有关的目标能够满足你对关联的需求。

提高能力和技能的目标能够满足对能力感的需求。

与个人兴趣、天性及价值观一致的目标能够满足对自主感的需求。



2. 内在动力点燃最大激情

自由选择的目标能够创造内在动力，带来更大的乐趣、耐力、创造力和更优秀的绩效。

外部的奖励、惩罚、最后期限和过多的监视等，会破坏内在动力。



3. 自主感激发动力

自主感意味着人们认为自己是行动的主导者，且这些行为反映了他们的信念与价值观。

五、选择适合自己的目标

在下定决心之前，考虑清楚你正努力实现怎样的成就非常重要。选择正确的目标，即选择最适合你当前情境的目标。

选择目标的策略：

事情容易时，选择展示才华的目标；

当你无从下手时，选择宏观思考和防御型目标；

面对困难（或不熟悉）时，选择具体的目标，防御型且谋求进步的目标，转移注意力至进步而非完美表现；

面对诱惑时，从“为什么”的角度思考，并选择防御型目标；

如果需要快速实现目标，选择进取型目标；

如果需要创造性，选择进取型目标。



六、实现目标的道路上常见的陷阱

1. 两种错误

监管不足

监管不当



2. 应对策略

聚焦于执行；

知道自己在做什么；

保护目标；

知道自己做得怎么样。



七、制订计划

“如果……就……”计划

制订计划：确定具体行动、行动时间和地点。

将前三步整合为一句“如果……就……”的陈述句，并反复复述。

针对可能的障碍和诱惑，制订“如果……那就……”的应对计划。



八、自制力

自制力像肌肉一样，用进废退。

启动自制力：

接受一些平常不愿接触的挑战，如不再吃高热量零食，学习新技能等。

当感到想放弃时，设定计划应对困难。



自制力疲惫时的策略：

在自制力较低时，学会运用一些不太需要自制力的策略，例如彻底放弃某件事。

尊重自制力的局限性，避免过度施压。