Demystifying Mental Toughness 187 Task vs Ego Involvement: Do You Set Goals That Harm Your Performances?
Are you one of those people who sets goals for yourself, but you get frustrated at not achieving them? Or perhaps you're a coach or teacher who notices some of your athletes often display a negative, "can't do" attitude towards things that you ask them to do.
In this short solo episode, I discuss the way that we view our ability goes on to underpin two different achievement goal states; task and ego involvement. Task and ego involvement, play a large part in how we view success and whether we get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves to others as I discuss. This episode I'm hoping will shed some light on answering the questions above so that you can set better goals for yourself. As well as helping coaches, teachers and parents create more of a task/mastery involved climate.
Key Learning Points
- Our perceptions of competence can define how we view success.
- Many strikers in football judge past performances and their capacity to score or perform relative to others.
- Subconscious habits in relation to our goal orientations as well as the wider motivational climate play a big part in how we set goals.
- Task orientation is associated with a wide range of benefits; including positive thoughts, moods and emotions as well as "can do" behaviours.
- Ego orientation is associated with neutral or negative thinking and emotions and lower mood especially when task goals are overlooked.
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Relevant Podcast Episodes to Help Your Commitment Levels
Ep015: Nick Grantham – Essential Elements of Rest and Recovery
Ep042: Mark Bennett MBE – Characteristics of High Performance Athletes
Ep138: Nick Littlehales – Why do the Mentally Tough see Sleep and Recovery as Important
Ep186: David Charlton - Intrinsic or Extrinsic Goals: Do You Set Goals That Harm Your Performances?
Other Relevant Blogs and Resources to Boost Your Commitment
Blog: Focusing on the Process as a Team
Blog: Why You Should Stop Setting SMART Goals
Blog: Steps To Form A Habit That Actually Sticks