There's something about a new year that feels fresh and motivating. In 2020, we're not only entering a new year, but a whole new decade. What a great opportunity. not

a new year but a whole new decade. What a great opportunity to reflect, refresh, and turn a new leaf.

But goal setting and goal achieving are surprisingly hard to pull off.

Worry not, because there are actually some psychology hacks

that will help you to rock your goals instead of abandoning them.

Welcome back to savvy psychologist.

I'm your host, Dr. Jaid Wu, and every week, I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research,

a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

So how many times have you started a new year feeling Gung Ho say about exercising,

only to have your enthusiasm fizzle out by February? Or told yourself you were going to meditate daily and then

never even got started on your path to inner tranquility. While motivation is a tricky thing,

but there's some good news.

Your past struggles don't mean you can't find success in the future.

Motivation is like an engine you can tune.

As long as you tinker with it the right way, it will perform better.

So let's look at four psychological hacks today for tinkering with your particular motivation

engine as you set your goals for 2020.

So number one, set a learning goal instead of an achievement goal.

Usually when we set goals, we think of what we want to achieve, what thresholds we want to be able to say we crossed.

So things like losing 20 pounds, earning a 3.5 GPA, getting a promotion at work, getting that title.

These goals are specific and concrete.

That's good.

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