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Post goal attainment letdown

Feb 12 2021 | By: Rebecca Arsena Health Coaching, LLC

Post Goal Attainment Letdown

 

You might not have head of this "phenomenon" but let's rephrase it here:  The day after Christmas blues. Ever felt super let down after Christmas is over? All the hustle and bustle for weeks leading up to the big day then it's all over and what's next to look forward to?  New Years Resolutions? Groundhog Day? Just plain depressing.

I can honestly say I have felt this way for as long as I can remember. From Christmas day blues to academic goals, to physical fitness goals I seem to reach a goal and immediately say, Ok what's next? I don't take the time to actually enjoy the fact that I achieved a goal and be proud of myself for working my butt off to get there I just seek out something else to strive for. After doing some research, I see that this is a real thing!  Post goal attainment depression is real, and common among high achievers.

 

“Arrival fallacy is this illusion that once we make it, once we attain our goal or reach our destination, we will reach lasting happiness,” said Tal Ben-Shahar, the Harvard-trained positive psychology expert who is credited with coining the term.  The problem is that achievement doesn’t equal happiness — at least not over the long term."

 

Dr. Edwin Locke and Dr. Gary Latham's Goal Setting Theory states that goals affect performance through 4 mechanisms:

  • Goals direct attention toward goal-relevant activities and away from goal-irrelevant activities
  • Goals have an energizing function. High level goals lead to greater effort than low level goals
  • Goals affect persistence. Hard goals prolong effort
  • Goals lead to discovery and use of task relevant knowledge

 

The first 2 bullet points above totally resonate with me. When I set my sights on something, I go all in. Time that might have been spent watching TV or scrolling social media is now spent working toward my goal. I also feel most energized when I am working toward a meaningful goal. Here lies the problem.... Once I have attained that goal the letdown sets in. Even if I accomplish it, I somehow still feel that longing inside that needs to be filled. All the accolades and congratulations are awesome, but in the end I  still feel like I have to accomplish more.  There is probably something deep here from my childhood that needs to be explored;)

 

"So wait. Reaching a goal can make us unhappy, but setting goals makes us happy? It sounds like a conundrum, but it’s not if you plan correctly, Dr. Ben-Shahar said. His advice is to lay out multiple concurrent goals..."

 

According to the text above, I have been going about it all wrong. I tend to set 1 goal, shove everything else in my life aside until I reach that one then move on to the next one!  The most recent example of this is my exam preparation for my NBHWC(National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching) exam. I spent HOURS every week and weekend studying. I didn't coach any clients, draft emails, write blogs or try to expand in any other area in my life for about 4 months. Now that I am 2 weeks post exam(and won't know if I passed until April), I am struggling to get back on track with anything. I have been very unmotivated and almost depressed, not knowing what is next. Crazy right?! 

 

I would love to hear from you-  Do you have the "Post Christmas blues" or Post Goal Attainment Letdown??  I can't be the only one out there, after all, I did find these sites to quote so it must really be a "thing" - the internet doesn't lie;)

 

 

 

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