Coaching practices for What to Avoid in Goals
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For What to Avoid in Goals, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Every single one of my goals is phrased as "don’t screw up," "stop being lazy," "don’t embarrass myself"
- All my goals are worded as things to stop
- Every goal I have is really about not being something
- I notice I quietly aim low so I never have to feel the sting of falling short
- I set a hard number on something I’ve genuinely never done before, and now I’m anxious and frozen
Practices that may help
- Reframe avoidance goals as approach goals
Translate "stop failing" into "get to X" so your system aims at a target instead of a threat.
Approach vs Avoidance Goals - Frame goals as approach-oriented rather than avoidance-oriented
"Become healthy" outperforms "stop being sedentary" — frame goals toward what you want, not away from what you fear.
Goal Systems Theory: How Goals Work Together (and Against Each Other) - Anti-Goals: Defining Success by What You Refuse to Accept
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification. - Frame goals as approach targets, not avoidance
State what you are moving toward, not what you are trying to escape.
Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical - Create psychological safety around missing a stretch target
Stretch goals only produce honest effort when missing them is treated as data, not failure.
Stretch Goals: When Ambitious Targets Help and When They Backfire - Approach vs Avoidance Goals
Approach goals move you toward a desired outcome ("get fit"); avoidance goals move you away from a feared one ("stop being lazy"). A substantial body of research finds that approach-framed goals are associated with better well-being, persistence, and performance — though avoidance framing can be useful when a threat is genuinely salient. - Use learning goals instead of performance goals on novel tasks
When the skill is new, a "figure out how to do X" goal outperforms "achieve X by date."
Stretch Goals: When Ambitious Targets Help and When They Backfire - Sidestep the SMART pitfalls
Use SMART to clarify execution — not to shrink your ambition or freeze your goal.
SMART Goals That Actually Move - Name trade-off anti-goals: conditions that come bundled with attractive outcomes
Many desirable outcomes come packaged with specific costs — name the hidden costs as anti-goals before you commit.
Anti-Goals: Defining Success by What You Refuse to Accept - Understand the three-goal hierarchy: outcome, performance, process
Use all three goal types — but know which one to focus on during execution.
Process Goals, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Anti Goals Defining Success By What You Refuse To Accept At Work
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- Anti Goals Defining Success By What You Refuse To Accept On A Budget
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- Anti Goals
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- Anti Goals Defining Success By What You Refuse To Accept As A Caregiver
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- Anti Goals Defining Success By What You Refuse To Accept Before Bed
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- Anti Goals Defining Success By What You Refuse To Accept During A Big Change
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
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