In the world of psychology (specifically Self-Determination Theory) self-concordant goals are the holy grail of personal productivity. Simply put, self-concordant goals represent who you actually are. They aren’t the things you feel you should do because of societal pressure or fear of judgment. Instead, they are the pursuits that align with your deepest values and authentic interests. When you pursue a self-concordant goal, the effort feels less like “work” and more like an expression of your identity.
The Four Types of Goal Motivation
If you’re familiar with the work of Kennon Sheldon, you likely know these 4 categories of goals:
| Motivation Type | The “Why” | Self-Concordance Level |
| Intrinsic | You do it because it’s inherently fun or challenging. | High |
| Identified | You do it because you truly believe it is important/valuable. | High |
| Introjected | You do it to avoid guilt or to boost your ego. | Low |
| External | You do it because someone else told you to or for a reward. | Low |
Why they matter?
Pursuing self-concordant goals isn’t just about feeling good. It has measurable benefits for your success and mental health:
Sustained Effort: You are much less likely to burn out. When the new goal smell wears off and things get difficult, your internal alignment provides the fuel to keep going.
Greater Well-being: Achieving a goal you don’t actually care about (an external goal) often leads to an “arrival fallacy” (that feeling of “Is this it?). Achieving a self-concordant goal actually boosts your long-term happiness.
The Upward Spiral: Success in one authentic area builds the confidence to tackle others, creating a positive feedback loop of growth.
How to Identify Them?
If you’re wondering if a current goal is self-concordant, ask yourself: If I could never tell a single soul that I achieved this, would I still want to do it? For instance, “I want to be a manager because I genuinely enjoy mentoring others and I value leadership.” Example of non-concordant goal: “I want to be a manager so my parents are proud and I get a fancy title for my resume.” We often trick ourselves into thinking external goals are our own. It takes a bit of “radical honesty” to peel back the layers of social expectation.
The Problem with Discordant Goals
We’ve all had that experience: You set a New Year’s resolution or a career goal, you start with high energy, and three weeks later, you’re dragging your feet. You might think you lack discipline, but the truth is usually simpler: your goal is a stranger to you. That’s a Discordant Goal. It’s a goal you took on because you felt you had to, not because you wanted to.
f you feel stuck in the Have-To cycle, use these three steps to pivot:
- The Joy Audit: Look at your calendar from last week. Circle the activities that made time fly by. Underline the ones that made every minute feel like an hour. The Goal: How can you bring the qualities of the circled activities into your bigger life goals?
- Stop “Should-ing” yourself: Every time you say “I should,” stop. Replace it with “I want to.” If “I want to” sounds like a lie, you have a discordant goal. The Fix: Either drop the goal or find a way to connect it to something you actually care about.
- Feed Your Three Basic Needs: A goal will only make you happy if it hits these three marks:
Autonomy: You feel in control of the process.
Competence: You feel like you’re getting better at something.
Relatedness: You feel connected to others while doing it.
Remember: The most successful people aren’t those with the most willpower; they are the people who have aligned their wants with their dos.