But the science is increasingly clear. One issue is tunnel-vision – when we become overly focused on achieving a very specific end-goal, we may lose sight of other key factors, like staying true to our values. But the bigger one is the effect they have on our motivation: if we obsess over a goal, we lose track of the intrinsic pleasure that might c

Unfortunately, that’s precisely what a new wave of research seems to indicate. Studies have found that although specific, challenging goals7 can increase performance for certain types of people and tasks, they can also have unintended negative consequences.