Attaining personal goals: self-concordance plus implementation intentions equals success.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Motivation

Background:

• Goal pursuit is central to personal growth and well-being.
• Understanding factors that facilitate goal attainment is crucial for psychological health.
• Self-concordance and implementation intentions are key psychological constructs related to goal achievement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analytically examine the associations between self-concordance, implementation intentions, and goal progress.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of combining self-concordance and implementation intentions on goal progress.
• To explore the relationship between goal progress and changes in affect over time.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted to examine the hypotheses.
• Meta-analyses were performed on existing data and data from the current studies.
• Statistical analyses included regression and interaction effect analyses.

Main Results:

• Both self-concordance and implementation intentions were positively associated with goal progress.
• A significant interaction effect showed that self-concordance and implementation intentions synergistically enhanced goal progress.
• Goal progress was positively associated with improved affect over time.

Conclusions:

• Self-concordance and implementation intentions are effective strategies for facilitating goal progress.
• The combination of self-concordance and implementation intentions yields synergistic benefits for goal achievement.
• Achieving goals contributes to enhanced emotional well-being.