Goal-Setting
Goal-Setting tests collaborative goal design that supports autonomy and follow-through. The exam favors goals the client owns, stated as specific behaviors, with a plan for review.
Core principles
- Negotiate the goal; do not prescribe it.
- Specify the behavior, amount, and time frame.
- Prefer proximal, moderately challenging goals before distant ones.
- Target behaviors the client controls (walks, sessions, servings) rather than outcomes alone (weight).
- Use implementation intentions: "If it is Tuesday at 6 p.m., then I will walk for 15 minutes."
- Add coping plans: "If it rains, then I will walk the indoor hallway for 10 minutes."
- Build in self-monitoring and a review date.
SMART caveat
SMART is a checklist, not a theory. The active ingredients in goal research (Locke & Latham) are specificity, difficulty, commitment, feedback, and task complexity. Do not soften "achievable" into "easy."
Worked example
"I want to get healthy" becomes: explore importance and confidence; client proposes walking. Shape it to "Walk 15 minutes after dinner on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week." Add an if-then plan for rain and a review after seven days. The client states the goal in their own words.
Traps
- Writing the goal for the client.
- Outcome-only goals with no behavioral pathway.
- Vague goals such as "more" or "try harder."
- Too many goals at once.
- No review or adjustment point.
- Ignoring low confidence, which predicts poor follow-through.