Conscious Planning May Reduce Stress and Create Greater Fulfillment

Written By: Alana Karran In a production driven society, goal setting is like breathing air. Task lists clutter the offices of nearly every professional and even children carry around to-do lists. While goal setting is an important step toward reaching a desired outcome, for many, it is laden with stress. In fact, according to psychological scientist Dr. David Rosenbaum, “…the desire to relieve the stress of maintaining that information in working memory can cause us to over-exert ourselves physically or take extra risks.” It is not uncommon for people to take on bigger action steps so that they feel they are moving closer to completing a project, in an effort to alleviate stress. Doing so may also lead to spending time and energy on tasks that are actually more of a detour than directly linked to the intended end result.