Thanks for the recommendation =)

Made to Stick is on my Amazon “Someday” wishlist, but it seems like I never
have enough time to read all the books on it ;)

Thanks for the recommendation =)

Made to Stick is on my Amazon “Someday” wishlist, but it seems like I never
have enough time to read all the books on it ;)

I think you're absolutely right – those of us committed to personal development tend to believe strongly in goal setting and we WANT the apocryphal Harvard study to be true.

This fits nicely into Chip and Dan Heath's “Made to Stick” (you've probably read it – if not I'd suggest picking it up). For the PD community, the Harvard study is “sticky” the same way that the urban legend of the “Kidney Heist” or the story of poisoned Halloween candy is.

Thanks for your comment!

You know, I am surprised that the Harvard 3% study still exists as such a
strong force in the personal development writing and blogs – but part of me
still has a hard time letting it go, especially when I know that
anecdotally, the people who I know with set goals (written or not) are so
much more accomplished than others I know who have no direction or goals

A self fulfilling prophecy of sorts I guess!

Thanks for your comment!

You know, I think you bring up an interesting point that is probably on a
lot of other people's mind as well – discounting emotions seems like it may
be something I should look into more. Maybe I don't listen to my emotions
enough – or maybe I am swayed by my emotions, and just rationalizing that I
made the choice based on logic and reason (something I know I've done in my
past, and that psychologists have found to be a common phenomena)

Thanks for the food for thought – and you're right, emotionally if we don't
have any desire for a particular future, we may not be happy with it no
matter how hard we try to reason it was the “right” decision!

Thanks for your comment!

You know, decision making really is one of the hardest things for me as
well. Like you, once I am heading down a certain path I am able to
(usually!) maintain my enthusiasm and motivation, keeping in my that a
payday may be far down the road.

Its especially difficult when my gut reaction disagrees with the research
I've done – like you I let it simmer for a few days and hopefully come up
with a decision I'm happy with ;)

Thanks for your comment!

I think you make an excellent point – that analyzing, while it may “feel”
like it slows us down, can actually speed things up by showing us where we
are making mistakes – or where we may be heading in a different direction
than we intended.

I think that's a great point, and a good analogy. Truth be told, my writing
does tend to center more on “climbing the ladder” – but you're absolutely
right, I am taking it for granted that the ladder is against the right wall,
and that may not be the case for everyone (even me).