Should We Set a Smart Goal?

In preparation for the new year (and the resolutions that come with it), today’s episode is all about goal setting and behavior change. Eric and Greg have a long, evidence-based conversation about the research on setting effective goals and successfully changing health behaviors. The discussion yields several evidence-based tips for setting better goals and maximally supporting your ability to achieve them.

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TIME STAMPS

Intro/Announcements (0:00)

Road to the Stage / Road to Athens (2:29)

Feats of Strength (4:12)

Research Review: Goal setting and behavior change (9:54)

Fake urgency (12:06)

• The time to act is now: pseudo-systematic review

Success rates of New Year’s Resolutions (14:36)

• Auld lang syne: success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers
• A large-scale experiment on New Year's resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals

Temporal landmarks (22:19)

• The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior
• Anticipated Temporal Landmarks Undermine Motivation for Continued Goal Pursuit

SMART goals (27:31)

• SMART criteria

Creating a goal hierarchy (30:19)

• How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective

Superordinate goals (34:16)

• How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective

Equifinality and Multifinality (41:12)

Mental contrasting (44:12)

• Mental contrasting for health behaviour change: a systematic review and meta-analysis of effects and moderator variables
• A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment

Approach versus avoidance  (52:37)

• Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change

Flexible versus rigid restraint (56:16)

• Towards a Sustainable Nutrition Paradigm in Physique Sport: A Narrative Review

Process versus outcome (1:01:28)

• The Way is the Goal: The Role of Goal Focus for Successful Goal Pursuit and Subjective Well-Being

Mastery versus performance (1:06:05)

• Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change

Goal difficulty; “slack with a cost” (1:13:44)

• Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change
• The Benefits of Emergency Reserves: Greater Preference and Persistence for Goals that Have Slack with a Cost

Setting specific goals (1:23:12)

Implementation intentions (1:23:47)

• A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment
• Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling

Stimulus control; modifying your environment (1:30:24)

• Changing circumstances, disrupting habits

Social support and feedback (1:33:08)

• Periodic Prompts and Reminders in Health Promotion and Health Behavior Interventions: Systematic Review
• Designing in-app messages to nudge behavior change: Lessons learned from a weight management app for young adults

How MacroFactor supports evidence-based goal striving and behavior change (1:45:06)

To Play Us Out: Protein Bread, Winter Break (1:54:54)

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