Setting goals is easy. Setting good goals is hard. Sticking with goals is really hard.
The problem isn’t a lack of ambition or willpower — it’s that most people don’t design their goals to tap into two of the most powerful drivers of motivation: progress and momentum.
The Science of Progress
Harvard researcher Teresa Amabile discovered the progress principle: nothing motivates us more than the feeling of making meaningful progress. Even small wins create a burst of positive emotion, sharpen our focus, and increase our persistence.
It’s not recognition, money, or pressure that fuels long-term effort — it’s that sense of “I’m moving forward.”
And when progress is invisible or feels too far away, motivation dries up. That’s why so many goals start with excitement, then fade into frustration.
Psychologists understand this fade and have even labeled it – its called the Problem of the Middle: we start strong but then lose motivation in the middle (where a lot of people give-up or get frustrated) only to regain motivation the closer we get to a goal. Think about how you speed up toward the end of a run, or how you’re more eager to finish a loyalty punch card when it’s nearly full. We just need to get through that middle section – to tap into the power of progress.
Momentum matters. It’s what sustains effort over weeks and months, not just days.
Milestones and Steppingstones: Turning Science Into Action
Here’s the good news: you can design your goals to take advantage of these principles.
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Milestones are your key markers along the way — the signposts that prove you’re making progress. Each one gives you that dopamine hit of achievement, reminding your brain, “Yes, I’m on track.” These also shorten the distance to a goal (these are like mini-goals) and thus, shorten the problem of the middle.
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Steppingstones are your daily or weekly actions — the habits and routines that carry you forward one step at a time. They’re small enough to be doable. They create action because they are achievable today. This drives us forward and shows daily progress.
Most people ignore this structure. They aim for the finish line and forget to build the path. That’s why they burn out before they ever get there.
To succeed, you need to layout the path and identify the key points along it that will help you stay motivated and engaged. You need to think about how you will overcome the obstacles that you will face (there are always obstacles) and set a plan for the detour you will need to take or how to circumvent that obstacle.
When people do this, we see that they achieve their goals at a much higher rate than those who don’t. Some research shows that you are more than 40% more likely to achieve your goals when you put together a plan.
How Goal/Shift Helps
The Goal/Shift Video Training Course dives deep into this process. We don’t just talk about why progress matters — we help you set up the right system to build that path and layout the signposts along the way to help ensure you are motivated and on the right track:
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Crafting a Keystone Goal that aligns with your true self
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Designing Milestones that provide visible proof of progress – the key signposts that help you keep going
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Building Steppingstones that keep you moving forward every day
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Anticipating roadblocks and planning how to overcome them
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Staying motivated long enough to achieve your dreams
When you set up your goals this way, you’re no longer relying on willpower alone. You’re working with the science of motivation to keep yourself engaged, focused, and moving toward success.
If you’ve ever struggled to stay motivated, the problem isn’t you — it’s how your goals are structured.
Learn how to design goals with the right milestones and steppingstones by enrolling in the Goal/Shift Video Training Course now.
References:
1. Matthews, G. (2015). Goal Research Summary. Paper presented at the 9th Annual International Conference of the Psychology Research Unit of Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), Athens, Greece.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2006). New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(5), 265-268.