4.4: Criticisms About Goal-setting

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 110103

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Some YouTube video creators would have us believe that goal-setting is useless, and some criticism or backlash against goal-setting exists. Locus of control may be one reason people do not set goals. Locus of control was addressed in the Motivation chapter of this text, but as a refresher, if you have an internal locus of control, you believe you can control what happens in your life, and you have the power to respond to events and circumstances. If you have an external locus of control, you believe that fate determines your life, and your actions have little impact on what happens in your life.

You have seen discussions in this text about mindset and personal responsibility. If you have an internal locus of control, you probably have a creator or growth mindset, and if you have an external locus of control, you may have a victim or fixed mindset.

Perhaps some criticism about goal-setting comes from people with external loci of control. If someone believes there is no way to control one’s life, then goals cannot be achievable or relevant and therefore are not worth spending the energy.

Other criticisms may derive from the fact that people may not know how to set effective goals using a model such as SMART. If a goal is not measurable, for example, the end result appears to be shifting and hard to grasp. For example, if a student writes a goal to “earn good grades,” what does “good” mean? That non-measurable word creates difficulty because “good” can mean many different things which creates confusion. If a goal is not achievable, someone may become discouraged and give up after realizing the skills and abilities needed are too far out of reach at this particular time.

Here’s a link to an inspiring video from a powerful speaker, Mr. Les Brown. Mr. Brown grew from a humble childhood into an early career in radio broadcasting then marketing and advertising, served in the Ohio state legislature and finally became an internationally-known motivational speaker. Please listen to his words about how to dream and move those dreams to reality. YouTube Video - Mr. Les Brown [www.youtube.com]