The Power of Setting and Declaring a Goal
"By setting and declaring a goal, we put ourselves on the line," writes Adrian Gore in an essay.
In September 2022, the CEO of Discovery, a global financial services organization, decided to set a personal goal of running a 5-minute mile. At 58 years old, this was an ambitious target, as the fastest known mile by a runner over 60 is 4:49. Undeterred, the CEO hired a coach and declared his goal publicly on LinkedIn, encouraging followers and running experts to set their own stretch goals.
The CEO believed that by putting something at stake, he would create a sense of loss aversion, triggering radical motivation and decisive action.
Behavioral science suggests that losses loom larger than gains due to loss aversion, a phenomenon first introduced by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1979. In an experiment, participants felt much worse about losing $100 than they felt good about gaining $100, even though the amounts were the same. People evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point, typically the status quo, rather than in absolute terms.
The CEO began his training with a health check and fitness assessment, which showed a VO2 max result of 47.7, well above the "excellent" classification for men his age. His coach set a brutal training plan, aiming to slash his mile time by up to 30-40 seconds. Despite setbacks, including a torn calf muscle, the CEO persisted, improving his time to 5:40, which was a significant achievement. Through his public declaration and weekly updates, the CEO hoped to inspire others to set and achieve their own goals.
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
