The importance of goals

Working on a goal has saved me from despair many a day. I suspect it’s part of why paid work is such a great antidepressant - because it involves setting and reaching goals every day. When I was first depressed in the early 1980’s my goal was often researching therapy for depression. That gave me a reason to get up in the morning and something I could get absorbed in. Nowadays it’s often a writing project. Some days it’s something little, like getting some dishes done or getting the recycling out.

Part of the reason I am so dogged about setting and working on goals is that it feels so good. And it’s not only me. Researcher Richard Davison has found that people who score high on mastery and purpose are more likely to feel positive emotions than those who don’t. People also report feeling very positive emotions when they are in a state of ‘flow’, concentrating deeply on working towards a goal. Flow involves setting goals that are challenging but ‘do-able’ in areas of interest, so you become absorbed in what you are doing until you lose track of time.

On days when I am struck fresh by my losses (house, health, career, to name a few) and start to panic about how I’m going to manage when my dwindling savings are all gone and I’m forced to live solely on disability, working on a goal provides the uplift that helps me stay happy most of the time despite my woes. My fears and sorrows just drift out the window – it’s as if I’m too busy and focused to feed them with my attention. Feelings like hope, enjoyment, satisfaction and competence spring up in their stead like lovely flowers.