--- title: Research: How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals description: Focus on small steps canonical: https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-16T04:01:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:28.439Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research og:description: Focus on small steps og:url: https://time.com/4069815/motivation-goal-setting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a646d4a600568e/698867dca988ca2a2b6b4c38/man-jogging-field.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 7360 og:image:height: 4140 og:image:alt: man-jogging-field og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research twitter:description: Focus on small steps twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a646d4a600568e/698867dca988ca2a2b6b4c38/man-jogging-field.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Stay Motivated With Difficult Goals, According to Research > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=1029cd91-e279-45ef-9c1b-7832c11d8cfb&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism [Watch (HLS stream): JCrew's President On How To Give and Take Criticism](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5rVA3aOQ.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2015-10-09. JCrew's President, Jenna Lyons, explains how she got started in the fashion industry, what makes a good mentor and how to gracefully take and delicately give criticism._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Germany, Mannheim, young man jogging Germany, Mannheim, young man jogging Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC You can measure progress by how much you’ve completed or how much you have left to do. Research says you’ll be more motivated if you focus on whichever of those two is _smaller_: Via [Eurekalert](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2012-04/uocp-sto041612.php): --- > “” --- And: --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-a-trick-for-sticking-to-your-goals/)**_._** **Join over 215,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When I first realized I wanted to be in fashion I took a class in Home Economics. I was extremely tall and got to make something for the first time that actually fit me. A girl named Dara Peterson in my class sat next to me and she said would you make me a skirt like that. And I thought yeah, that's cool. I could do that. And it was the first time I'd been recognized for how I looked, in a positive way. [ MUSIC ] What I find valuable in a mentor is modeling. It's hard to, as you're growing up, no one teaches you management. No one teaches You how to be a good boss. No one teaches you how to motivate or impress. It is not something you learn in school. [ MUSIC ] Watching people how they treat you, what kinds of things they do to make you feel good. What kinds of things they do to motivate you? What kinds of things make you not shut down? How do you not do those things? And all of those those traits and characteristics are the things that you build on overtime and make you the person you are and make you the manager that you are and make you the boss that you are and I think I've been incredibly fortunate to have worked with some people who I've learned so much from and hopefully I don't suck. The hardest thing I had to do was learn how to not internalize everything. I think, especially in a creative field, it's so easy when someone says, oh I don't like something, to feel hurt or crushed. It's like, but I made that. [ LAUGH ] And the fact of the matter is there's plenty of times to make more things, it's not the last time you're gonna make something. And it teaches you also how to Feedback, I think learning how to take feedback, and also how to give it, is probably the most challenging thing, particularly in a creative field. [ MUSIC ] I think one of the reasons I enjoy fashion is that, it isn't this the same thing every year. I mean there's always something next and it's always something different and whether it's a button down shirt that you've seen three times but this time that button down shirt is with a sparkly jewel or the next time it'll be with a ripped up jean and maybe it's with a heel, and I think things are constantly evolving, there's constantly new ways to show and that's what I've always loved about fashion, that I don't worry that there's going to be something next. Every year, whether you like it or not, somehow things change. And your eye shifts. And it feels exciting all over again. 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