Does setting a difficult goal work better than an easy one?

Yes, in this meta-analysis. When the researchers compared goals, difficult goals produced stronger behavior change than easy ones. The point is not to set something impossible. It is to pick a goal that is a real, meaningful stretch rather than one you could reach without trying.

Should I share my therapy goals with someone?

The evidence points that way. In the same 2017 review, goals set in public worked better than goals kept private. Telling your therapist, or a person you trust, what you are working toward is a low-cost way to make a goal public. Choose someone who feels safe to share with.

How specific should my goal be?

Specific enough that you would know if you met it. The research measured the act of setting a clear goal, and clarity is what writing gives you. A goal like "be steadier in the mornings" is easier to work with than "feel better," because you can picture it and check it.

Intention

Does writing down your goals before therapy help?

Short answer

Writing a goal down is a simple way to make it specific, and specific goals are what the research supports. A 2017 review of 141 studies found that setting a clear goal makes behavior change more likely. The effect was stronger when the goal was challenging and when it was shared openly.

The research

Epton, T., Currie, S., & Armitage, C. J. (2017). Unique effects of setting goals on behavior change: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, volume 85, pages 1182 to 1198.

Sample 141 studies, 384 effect sizes, 16,523 participants

Published 2017

Journal Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Tracy Epton and her colleagues gathered 141 studies that tested one thing on its own. Does setting a goal actually change what people do? Across 384 separate comparisons and 16,523 people, the answer was yes. Setting a goal produced a small but real effect on behavior, measured at d = 0.34. Small does not mean trivial here. It means a steady push that showed up again and again across many different behaviors, most of them everyday health habits like eating, moving more, and cutting back on smoking. The team also tested what made goals work better. Three things stood out. Goals helped most when they were difficult rather than easy, when they were set in public rather than kept private, and when they were shared as a group goal. There was weaker evidence that goals worked better when another person kept an eye on progress, and when the goal was set face to face. One honest note. This was a test of setting a goal, not of writing one down. So the writing is best seen as one plain way to make a goal specific and open.

Read the paper

What does this mean for you?

Writing a goal down does not put magic in the ink. What it does is force a vague wish to become a specific plan. That is the honest link to this research. The study did not measure writing on its own. It measured setting a clear goal, and writing is one of the simplest ways to turn "I want to feel better" into something you can name, picture, and check.

The moderators point the same way. Goals worked better when they were made public. Writing your goal down before a session gives you something concrete to hand your therapist, which is a small and safe way to make it public. Goals also worked better when they were a real stretch. A written goal is easier to hold to that standard, because you can read it back and ask whether it is specific and honest, or still just a hope.

Be clear about the limits. Most of the goals in these studies were health behaviors, not therapy itself, and the effect was small, not a sure thing. So writing your goals down is a reasonable, low-cost habit that can make the work more focused. It is not a promise of a certain result, and it works best alongside your care, never in place of it.

The takeaway

Write it before you go. Turn a vague hope into one clear, specific goal you can read back.
Make it a real stretch. The research found difficult goals worked better than easy ones, so aim for something that matters.
Say it out loud. Sharing your written goal with your therapist is a simple way to make it public, which is when goals held up best.

Terms in this page

Intention setting Between-session support Mental readiness

This is the work Asendar™ was built for: a quiet place to name what you want before a session, so a passing thought becomes a goal you can carry in and follow up on. If you want a clear read on where you are starting from today, take your Mental Readiness Score.

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