I like the article but I'm always a little shocked when someone has put this much thought into a subject and either hasn't even looked at, or at least doesn't mention, all the recent research that has been done around goal setting and motivation.

There was a really interesting study recently that compared two methods of motivation for a habit/activity. The methods were goal setting and cultivating an appreciation for the activity itself.

The goal setters improved faster and more of them had stuck with it after a short period of time. After a longer period of time the appreciators were just as proficient as the goal setters and more of them had stuck with it. A lot of goal setters quit in the medium term.

I remember the explanation being that goal setting drove better performance faster but the habit was more fragile and missing goals or reaching a plateau resulted in more quitting, while the appreciators just kept plodding along because they enjoyed it and were more successful long term.

I had no google luck finding that study again, and I have to get back to doing some real work but if anyone recognizes it please post the link.

I can't be only HN user who appreciates these types of articles when they tie in interesting facts a lot more than those that just have a well written argument based on personal experience and anecdote. Maybe that's just my bias towards science over self help?