Exploring the Psychology of Goals
If goals are reference points, since a goal is in the future and not achieving it is seen as a loss and exceeding it is seen as a gain, then we are more motivated by bad events than we are by good events.
Our brains are apparently wired to give more priority to bad news than good - a way to keep us alive. And if the joy of a scarce commodity is not in experiencing it but in possessing it, we are more likely to experience joy by possessing the thing that helped us avoid the loss of not meeting a goal.
Business Insights: Uniqueness and Connection
For business, because we each feel a strong need to express our uniqueness in matters of taste, leaders do well by ensuring that their members conform to work goals while being able to do so in their own way.
It was also interesting from The Tipping Point to learn the powerful effect of 150 - the number of meaningful connections in our lives.
In the case of business, a business unit larger than 150 can’t be connected and doesn’t experience a sense of belonging to the group since there are too many people to get to know closely.
Ponder This
- How do you balance the pursuit of goals with the psychological tendency to focus on potential losses?
- Do you think your work environment allows for both conformity to goals and the expression of individual uniqueness?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Books
- Thinking Fast and Slow
- Influence
- The Tipping Point
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