The following is an excerpt from "Make 2017 the year you strike gold." For the full article, click here. In fact, new research shows the goal-setting strategies experts have been suggesting for years have unexpected downsides, and doing the opposite may be key to success. One reason old tactics fail: “Our culture is very achievement-oriented,” says Carly Anderson, Ph.D., a psychologist at Premier Sport Psychology in Edina, Minnesota. “We do not often reward or pay salaries for effort and persistence, so we’re conditioned to only put value on results.” And when they don’t come soon enough, we give up. For example, setting firm intentions for a 30-pound weight loss focuses attention on outcomes. So rather than celebrating losing 5 pounds, you beat yourself up for the 25 still to go, ki...

[audio mp3="https://www.premiersportpsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Dr.-Justin-Anderson-on-Sports-Analytics-Department-12.7.16.mp3"][/audio]   For more information on the podcast, click here.  ...

"Minneapolis-based Sports Psychologist Dr. Justin Anderson of Premier Sports Psychology said fear is one of the biggest factors that hold back athletes from reaching their goals. 'Fear has a lot of sub-conscious components to it,' Anderson said. 'If you have a fear of a spider, just a quick glimpse of something like that causes you to react and jump away from it. We’re not rationally looking at that spider and saying, ‘oh, that thing isn’t going to hurt me, it’s in the corner and not that big of a deal.’ Fear has a strong hold over our minds. A lot of folks are unaware of what their fear is. With a fear of failing…we get [athletes] to look at it rationally, like if this doesn’t work out I’m in no worse position than I am now.' That’s exactly how the Vikings’ receiver looked at pursing the NFL." Read more: "Adam Thielen and the...