Psychology for Life · Book 3
The Science of Motivation and Success
By A.N. Archer · Published by Freyja Publishing
Popular advice promises that visualisation, willpower and relentless effort are enough. When progress stalls, people often blame themselves instead of questioning the methods they were given.
Achieve What Matters turns to the evidence, drawing on Locke and Latham’s research on goal setting, Angela Duckworth’s work on grit, Anders Ericsson’s research on deliberate practice, and Peter Gollwitzer’s work on turning intentions into action.
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About Achieve What Matters
Popular advice often promises that visualisation, willpower and relentless effort are enough. When progress stalls, people tend to blame themselves rather than the methods they were given. Achieve What Matters turns to the evidence instead.
The book draws on Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s research on goal setting, Angela Duckworth’s work on grit, Anders Ericsson’s research on deliberate practice and Peter Gollwitzer’s work on turning intentions into action. Together they explain how goals, motivation, focus and recovery actually work.
What you’ll explore
Specific goals beat vague ones. Locke and Latham’s decades of research found that specific, challenging goals generally lead to better performance than simply trying to “do your best”.
Motivation changes over time. Enthusiasm fades for everyone. The book explains how motivation shifts and how to keep moving when the early energy has gone.
Progress versus activity. Being busy is not the same as moving forward. The book helps you tell genuine progress from constant activity.
Practice, feedback and recovery. Ericsson’s work on deliberate practice shows that focused, feedback-rich practice builds skill, and that rest is part of the process rather than a break from it.
If-then plans. Gollwitzer’s research on implementation intentions found that deciding in advance when and where you will act makes follow-through more likely and can reduce procrastination.
Achievement without burnout. The book closes the loop by showing how to pursue meaningful goals without sacrificing long-term wellbeing.
The central message is that sustainable achievement is learnable, and the book offers practical, evidence-based methods for choosing goals that matter and making steady progress towards them.
Who this book is for
Anyone who sets goals and struggles to reach them, wants to stop relying on willpower alone, or wants to achieve more without wearing themselves out.
At a glance
- Series: Psychology for Life, Book 3 of 20
- Author: A.N. Archer
- Publisher: Freyja Publishing
- Length: about 248 pages
- Formats: Kindle eBook, paperback and hardcover
- Kindle edition included with Kindle Unlimited
If you enjoy this book
Each title in the Psychology for Life series stands on its own. You may also enjoy:
- Unlock Your Potential (Book 7)
- Change Your Behaviour (Book 8)
- Small Changes, Big Lives (Book 19)