The positive psychological effects of pursuing goals

In a touching scene from the film Rudy, the title character expresses appreciation to his best friend Pete who has given him a jacket from the University of Notre Dame. It is Rudy’s goal to play for their football team despite being objectively too small and untalented.

“You’re the only one who ever took me serious, Pete”, Rudy says which is followed by Pete’s reply, “Well you know what my dad always said: Having dreams is what makes life tolerable”. Pete’s comment captures the essence of the psychological benefits of pursuing goals and dreams. In the following sections, I will discuss why pursuing goals is important to your emotional well-being as described by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky in The How of Happiness.

Goals provide purpose, meaning, direction and a sense of control

One positive psychological effect of working toward goals is that it provides you with purpose, meaning, direction and a sense of control in your life. As you strive toward your goals, you have something to focus on during your day, week, month and year. For example, each day I have direction, meaning, purpose and a sense of control provided to me by my goal of practicing the piano each day for 75 minutes.

Lacking goals results in you having no purpose, meaning, direction and a feeling of control in your life. Each day therefore entails lethargically letting each hour pass with little to look forward to or focus on.

Goals boost self-esteem

A second positive psychological effect of pursuing goals is that it boosts your self esteem. One reason for this is that goals typically involve ‘mastery’ tasks which require the application of skill and talent to accomplish steps as you pursue your goal.

Each one of these ‘mini accomplishments’ provides your self esteem with a boost which is good for your mood. Accomplishing significant sub-goals as you pursue your long-term goal adds to your sense of self-efficacy—the belief that you can be successful—which also enhances your mood.

For example, my self-esteem gets many boosts each day as I master elements of piano playing when I apply them to pieces which I have been assigned by my teacher. I get additional boosts to my self-esteem when I pass examinations and play pieces successfully in front of my teacher and others.

Goals provide structure

Working toward goals provides your day with structure which entails the opportunity to schedule and complete tasks, meet deadlines, and set aside specific times to meet with people related to your goals. Having this structure gives meaning and excitement to each of your days.

It does this for my days which are structured around my piano playing goals. I set aside time for practicing skills, applying these skills to pieces I am learning, meeting with my teacher and performing in front of others at a performance class to which I belong. Lacking this structure from not having this goal would leave me feeling aimless and lethargic rather than focused and excited.

Goals improve time management

Being able to manage time effectively is a key element of managing stress and completing tasks. Working toward a goal improves your time management skills by requiring you to schedule your day in a manner which allocates time to different tasks which you must fit in during your day—including those tasks which are related to your goals. In turn, poor time management makes it harder to get tasks done and affects mood negatively—both from not getting tasks done on time or doing them poorly as well as from the undue stress associated with struggling to get tasks done by deadlines.

My time management skills have been honed by pursuing my goal to learn to play the piano. Fitting in 75 minutes of daily practice along with time for lessons with my teacher and performance classes requires me to schedule these activities into time slots as well as scheduling specific time periods for my other activities related to work, exercise, social interaction and other endeavours.

Goals help in managing stress

When people are dealing with stressful situations, the temptation is to put the pursuit of goals aside while they deal with the situations. In fact, pursuing your goals while you are dealing with the situations will help you to manage the stress stemming from them more effectively.

One reason for this is that focusing on your goals gives you a break from dwelling on the source of the stress. Another reason is that the progress you are making on your goals reminds you that you have what it takes to get through the stressful situation which you are facing.

As luck would have it, I am currently dealing with a very stressful situation which has allowed me to experience first-hand the benefits of pursuing goals during such situations. On this past Thursday evening, I left the cathedral where I had been attending Mass for Holy Thursday only to discover that my car had been stolen.

The initial stress stemming from this realization was accompanied by more stress from having to call the police and later file a written report, call my insurance company to initiate a claim, and seek alternate transportation to get home that night (my taxi driver, owing to not being familiar with the street where I lived and having a malfunctioning GPS, took a circuitous route which was much longer than I needed at that time). In the days following the incident, I have been planning steps for buying a new car and considering ways to make do without one in the interim for necessary tasks such as buying groceries.

I can testify with confidence that practicing piano has made it significantly easier to manage the stress stemming from this difficult event in my life. It gives me much-needed breaks from dwelling on the situation, it brings me the pleasure of playing and listening to music throughout the day, and it boosts my self-esteem by performing a mastery activity regularly. As such, it is easier for me to believe that if I can play this instrument effectively, I have what it takes to get through this crisis.

Goals can facilitate positive social relationships

Working toward goals often leads to positive social interactions and positive social relationships which are good for your emotional health. For example, in my endurance sports goals I enjoyed a close and supportive relationship with my coach. As I pursue my piano playing goals, I enjoy a similar close and supportive relationship with my teacher. My relationships with both these people have significantly enhanced my emotional well-being.

Many goals often involve interacting with people who are pursuing the same or similar goals such as members of a running club training for a marathon together. These relationships can have good effects on a person’s psychological well-being. I have been a member of such clubs over the years as I have pursued goals in running, swimming, and triathlons. I have benefited from the many positive social interactions and formed friendships which have benefited me psychologically and emotionally. More recently, I have enjoyed the friendship of my fellow students and the instructor of the music performance class which I attend regularly and have experienced similar benefits to my emotional well-being.

My recommendation: Heed the advice of Pete’s dad

I’ve watched Rudy many times because I identify with the title character’s perseverance in striving toward a challenging goal along with how this striving is much easier when you have a supportive person who believes in your dream. Not only did Pete play a fundamental role in Rudy having the motivation necessary to pursue his dream, the advice of Pete’s dad which Pete related to Rudy is advice I fully endorse: Having dreams is what makes life tolerable.

May your life be made tolerable from pursuing your dreams and goals,

-Dr. Pat