How To Stay Motivated So You Exceed Your Goals | Ayelet Fishbach PhD

When we set goals, we’re excited, engaged and motivated to complete them. But after a while, the momentum can slow, we lose enthusiasm and we start cutting corners. The “middle problem” is something we can all relate to. And it’s one of the topics we discuss on this episode with Dr Ayelet Fisbach PhD.

Ayelet teaches us about staying motivated, without cutting corners. How our identity, flexibility and patience actually affect our goals. And perhaps, most importantly, why we should set ourselves uncomfortable goals and learn from our failures.

Talking with Ayelet on Behavioral Grooves was a true privilege for us. She is one of the few researchers on the planet who blend motivation and goal setting into their work, and her groundbreaking research has won her a bunch of international awards. She is the Jeffrey Breckenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and also the recent author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.

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Topics

(6:18) Welcome and speed round.

(9:19) What tools do we have to motivate ourselves?

(10:18) Why flexible goals are vital.

(14:11) Exceeding your own expectations is when you feel good about your goals.

(16:45) The problem with the middle.

(18:47) We can all get tripped up by the planning fallacy.

(21:28) Set goals, not means (goals aren’t chores).

(24:57) How does our identity affect our goals?

(28:29) The different ways patience plays a part in goals.

(30:59) Why identifying temptations can help you avoid them.

(34:04) How food labels could improve our eating habits.

(38:28) Setting an uncomfortable goal can actually be rewarding.

(44:12) Learning from failure.

(49:35) How Ayelet engages with music.

(52:05) Grooving Session discussing Ayelet’s research.

© 2021 Behavioral Grooves

Other Episodes of Behavioral Grooves To Explore

Episode 228. Kelly Leonard, Getting to Yes, And…Behavioral Grooves: Two Podcasts in One

Episode 274. Paul Bloom: Why Finding Pleasure in Life is a Painful Journey

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