Success, achieving goals, and getting better is not just about hard work; it’s about understanding the science and how we can trigger reward affects in our brain. One effective strategy is setting short, attainable goals that can be achieved within 2 to 6 weeks. This timeframe is manageable and keeps motivation high, allowing for a steady stream of accomplishments that reinforce confidence, reward chemicals in the brain, and boost our determination.
Brain science supports the idea that writing down your goals significantly increases the likelihood of achieving them. (Murphy, Mark. “Are Smart Goals Dumb?” Leadership IQ, Leadership IQ, 10 Jan. 2025, www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/35353793-are-smart-goals-dumb.)
Individuals are 42% more likely to complete their goals when they commit them to paper. It doesn’t seem to matter if this is on the whiteboard in your office, on a sticky note on your phone, or in your perfectly organized goal tracking software. This is because writing engages the brain in a unique way, solidifying the intention and creating a tangible reminder of the objective.
Now if you add the next step- sharing your goals with someone else- it further boosts your chances of success. The act of telling someone increases the sense of accountability and commitment. According to research by psychologist Dr. Gail Matthews, sharing goals with a friend increases the completion rate to 64%. Matthews, Gail. “The Impact of Commitment, Accountability, and Written Goals on Goal Achievement.” Dominican Scholar, scholar.dominican.edu/psychology-faculty-conference-presentations/3/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
The ultimate strategy combines these and adds the third : write down your goals, share them with someone, and ask for regular check-ins. This method increases the success rate to 76% (Matthews, 2015), as the regular accountability helps maintain focus and motivation.
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By leveraging the mental science of success, you can complete your goals, grow in leadership, and even just feel better and be pumped about life.
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Let me give you a real life example from my time as a leadership coach. I was working with a young mom that had a leadership roll in a non-profit working with literally 100’s of other moms. She had a graduate degree, served on the boards of several nonprofits, and successfully cared for her growing household. When I met her she described that she just wasn’t feeling competent. As I asked her questions and got to know her story I could only stammer back my utter disbelief because in my eyes she was amazing and “crushing it.” We did some leadership exercises and assessments and over time one thing came out. She described that everything in her life was great and orderly but she had an entryway in her house that was always cluttered and unfinished. She described how she and her husband had moved into the house and that part was unfinished and remained unfinished even after the rest of the house was complete. She had said for more than 3 years that she would tackle that room but never did and it served as a monument for failure every time she went in or out of her house. As we unpacked why this served as a metaphor for her life I challenged her with what she thought was holding her back. We identified some achievable goals that she could do in that space over the next month. But in just one week, she was at a follow-up coaching meeting and was overjoyed to say she was done. She had stayed up late for 3 nights in a row and it was now the way she wanted the entry room to be. More importantly, when I followed up with her weeks and a year down the road, her mental drive had increased, her self-worth and confidence increased, and it had changed her entire mindset.
This example shows how we can accomplish our goals but also how sometimes work, personal goals, and life all intersect for many people. So, I’d challenge you to consider how you might take this approach. Begin writing your goals down, then tell someone else that is going to follow up with you. Remember there’s no judgement in the follow up, just accountability and encouragement. You may also consider even a bigger step by getting a leadership coach for yourself. But whatever you do have grace on yourself and cut yourself some slack.
-Allen Hunter