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Step by Step - Character Lab

characterlab.org · 445 words · saved by 1 readers

This is a question I ask my undergraduate students, and they have no trouble answering. “When I achieve an A—ideally in all my classes,” one responded, and I suspect most of his classmates—and their parents—would agree. But thinking of outcomes as the main prize can be a hollow victory. After you’ve worked hard to meet a goal—whether it’s getting an A on a test or losing 10 pounds through a fitness-and-diet regimen—a natural first response is to celebrate. The second? To slack off on the very behavioral changes that led to your success, cutting back on time spent studying or skipping workouts. So how do you capitalize on wins without backsliding? Research I conducted with Szu-chi Huang shows that when we think of a goal as one step in a longer journey, not the final destination, we’re more likely to keep up the practices that led to reaching that goal. In this light, success isn’t a short-term win; it’s the subsequent activities you do after you get that gold star. And that attitude he

Today, I’ve asked Jennifer Aaker to share her Tip of the Week. How do you define success? This is a question I ask my undergraduate students, and they have no trouble answering. “When I achieve an A—ideally in all my classes,” one responded, and I suspect most of his classmates—and their parents—would agree. But thinking of outcomes as the main prize can be a hollow victory. After you’ve worked hard to meet a goal—whether it’s getting an A on a test or losing 10 pounds through a fitness-and-diet regimen—a natural first response is to celebrate. The second? To slack off on the very behavioral c

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