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In my high school 10 years ago, and at least 10 years prior and to this day, the staff has been using the Power of Positive Students (POPS) program to motivate students to do better and stuff.

They made the claim that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them than those who just think about them. So they made us write down our goals every week.

I've been curious about where all this came from and it appears to be based on some 70's program so the question is.

Do people who write down their goals achieve them with any measurable success over those who merely think them?

Peter Turner
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    There are two different claims possible here: does writing down goals improve your chances? and the more suspect (but frequently made) claim: does writing down your goals *guarantee* success? – matt_black Jan 27 '12 at 00:44
  • the book [:59 seconds](http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/59-seconds-think-a-little-change-a-lot/) by noted skeptic Richard Wiseman covers this. – Sklivvz Jan 28 '12 at 11:30
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    @matt_black: Another question: Do people who are clever, hard working, and lucky enough to achieve their goals write down their goals? – gnasher729 Mar 04 '23 at 15:17
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    When I shop for groceries, it helps to have a written list of what to buy. Otherwise I am likely to forget some things I need. In that sense, writing down my goals makes it more likely that I will achieve them. – GEdgar Mar 04 '23 at 22:16
  • when you set your own targets and have no ambition (school children...) you tend to set them very low indeed. – jwenting Mar 10 '23 at 08:14

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There is an interesting study from a Harvard MBA class suggesting that writing down clear goals does indeed increase the chance of success. A couple summarizing statistics:

The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all.

Even more staggering – the three percent who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.

Apparently, there is also a similar Yale study that was a myth, but the above one cites actual statistics from Harvard.

Another experimental study (at the bottom of the page, the beginning discusses the Yale myth), suggests a fairly strong causality between writing down goals and achieving them. The professor in charge commented:

"My study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment, and writing down one’s goals."

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    The question does not ask about causality only correlation. – Sklivvz Jan 29 '12 at 00:31
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    I think there's an obvious explanation for these results: people without goals can't achieve them, and people that are unable to clearly write down their goals likely have dreams and wishes rather than real goals. – Ray Butterworth Mar 04 '23 at 16:37
  • Does that first study indicate an increase in the chance of success? We don't know whether the written goals related solely to future pay levels. If your written goal is anything remotely practical (learn five languages, visit space, cure a major disease), how much you're paid a few years later is irrelevant as an indication of success or failure. – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere Mar 07 '23 at 12:03