Maybe you saw a post on Instagram while scrolling down, or maybe you saw a headline in the newspaper. All in all, we’ve all heard that we should write down our goals if we want them to happen. What if we told you that was actually true?
It sounds hard to believe, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where we step in with facts, psychology, and biology on our side. Curious to learn more? Let’s dive right in!
A Little Basic Understanding
So, you ask, ‘what’s so amazing about writing down my goals? I passed all my school examinations, yet I remember none of it!’
Well, writing down your goal encompasses two different levels. These are external storage and encoding. What are those? Keep reading to find out! Secondly, it also activates our subconscious and thus increases the chances of success.
But, let’s first explore the encoding and storage part!
External Storage
There’s no rocket science to this; external storage refers to you storing whatever your information (your goal) in a location. This location must be super easy to access and something you can review from time to time. No, consider this: you can’t very well post your brain on your fridge. However, you can very easily clip on a mere piece of paper that you get to see every day. This means it will be imprinted in your brain in no time!
Encoding – Hi Biology!
External storage was pretty simple. You wrote on a paper, stared at it for hours on end, and it started haunting you. Encoding, on the other hand, involves a little more of the sciences.Every time we see something and discern it, it all travels to our brain’s hippocampus to be analyzed. This whole process is known as encoding. What happens after that is that your brain decides what you need to remember in the long-term and what is unnecessary.
Now when you write something down, your brain’s chances of remembering it go a little higher.
Um, Neuropsychology Is Here Too
We’re sure you already guessed psychology would make an appearance here. Well, neuropsychologists put a name to this known as ‘the generation effect.’ This means that people typically have a better memory of something they write than for what they just skim through.
What’s cooler is that when writing down your goal, you and the generation effect meet twice. How? Well, when you think and visualize this, the generation effect steps in. And the second time when you scribble it down. By rethinking all the details and noting them down, you make sure your brain remembers to remember it!
Let’s Talk A Little Facts
It’s hard to believe something if there isn’t substantial proof behind it. So before we talk about the magical psychology behind this, let’s scratch the surface.
While we would love to talk about the several hundred studies about this, we’re sure students, and their notes aren’t what you want to know. Instead, there was one about those conducting hiring interviews. It turned out those who took notes remembered 23% more than those who didn’t.
Another study proved that the more a person looked at their goals, and we don’t mean your zoned-out stare, the more likely they were to reach it!
Why Does Writing Down Goals Work?
Let’s list it down:
- Writing down activates our Reticular Activating System, which is our natural personal assistant. The minute we write down a life goal, it communicates back to our brain and sets it up as a priority. Moreover, it buzzes at every opportunity. For instance, if you plan to become a lifestyle coach and write it down as a long-term goal, so every time you see a relevant ad or opportunity, it’s going to remind you about your dream/goal/aspiration
- It is said writing down your goals initiates the law of attraction. Opportunities and relevant people appear as soon as we write our goals—-quite magical, right!
- Writing down strengthens your recall power, and it keeps reminding you about your goals so that you take steps to achieve it.