Our daily life is full of obstacles that often make it difficult or even impossible for us to reach our desired goal. For example, a colleague's phone call in the background, which prevents us from concentrating on the work at hand; a child's sudden illness, which completely shakes up our daily and work routine; or the hourly delay of the morning bus. Is it possible to divide obstacles into categories? Is it possible to differentiate them based on the cause? The purpose of the following text is to answer these questions by examining and analyzing the most frequently mentioned obstacles on the way to the goal from the 1507 answers of the respondents.
Most human behavior is goal-directed (Kruglanski, 1996). The process of creating, tracking and achieving goals in the form of self-regulation is an essential part of an individual's life, as it helps him to create and then implement his own plan and chosen path. Desired goals can relate to his health, work, sports or relationships. However, despite the fact that a person sets goals, he does not always successfully achieve them. As part of the long journey leading to the goal, there are very likely facts that can prolong, complicate, confuse, or even end this journey. Several variables can be behind distractors in achieving goals. One of them can be obstacles that enter the process of target self-regulation and lead to the fact that a person does not manage to achieve the chosen goals without problems. The presence of obstacles makes it difficult to follow the target. The issue of disturbing variables in the form of obstacles to self-regulation is a current topic of research in this area (Fishbach, Hofman, 2015).
Margus, Forster, Vam Kleef (2011) define obstacles in general as certain interfering forces that prevent a person from reaching a set goal. Salanova and her colleagues (2009) explain them as external or internal circumstances that make it difficult to achieve a goal. Oetingen and her team (2010) add that these are any circumstances that stand in the way of the goal or obstacles that prevent the achievement of the goal in a direct, originally intended way.
Overcoming obstacles requires first identifying them. In this context, Myrseth and Fishbach (2009) propose a two-stage process of steps needed to overcome an obstacle in achieving a goal. The first step is to identify the obstacle. In the second step, it is necessary to use specific strategies to overcome the identified obstacles. Myrseth and Fishbach (2009) add that insufficient or late identification of an obstacle is likely to lead to reduced progress towards a goal. It is for these reasons that the classification of obstacles based on several parameters and characteristics is important.
Professional literature offers several possibilities for classification and categorization of obstacles. For example, Shah and Kruglanski (2008) divide barriers based on hedonicity into an attractive option and an unfavorable barrier. Leduc-Cummimgs, Milyavskaya, and Peetz (2017) take a temporal perspective and talk about past, current, and expected hindrance. For comparison, Marguc, Forster and Van Kleef (2011) categorize barriers according to their effect into direct and indirect. However, the most common division of obstacles is based on their cause into subjective and objective interfering variables (Marguc, Forster, Van Kleef, 2011; Milyavskaya, Inzlicht, Hope and Koestner, 2015). In addition, objective barriers can be differentiated according to their nature into physical, situational, or social interfering variables and resources (Altmann, Trafton, & Hambrick, 2014). The external environment can be a source of potential physical obstacles, for example in the form of disturbing sounds, lights or other external and difficult to influence phenomena; the social environment can be a source of distractors, for example in the form of pressure to fulfill social or family expectations (Altmann, Trafton, & Hambrick, 2014). A situational objective obstacle can also be the crowded traffic situation in the morning. Obstacles in the form of resources consist in the lack of something that a person needs to achieve a goal. Subjective obstacles can be defined as circumstances perceived by individuals in the form of subjective difficulties, as opposed to the traditional understanding of obstacles in the form of objective, external obstacles (Margus, Forster, Vam Kleef, 2011). Gollwitzer and Brandstatter (1997) specify that a subjective obstacle can have the character of a competing goal, forgetting the goal, and low self-control (Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997). However, we did not come across a closer content categorization of subjective obstacles in the studies. Therefore, the aim of the following research was to map the obstacles that individuals encounter in fulfilling the set goals and their subsequent closer categorization according to the content based on the cause of subjectivity and objectivity.
Research sample
Data were obtained from a sample of 542 respondents aged 18 to 34 (M age = 22.2; SD = 1.96). The sample consisted of 73.25% women (N = 379) and 26.75% men (N = 145). The selection of respondents took place by occasional non-random selection.
Methodology
Respondents filled in basic socio-demographic data such as gender, age, field of study, year of study and also commented on whether they were working or studying. Subsequently, they were asked to answer an open-ended question that related to specific obstacles that they encounter or expect to encounter in fulfilling a specific goal that they have set for themselves. The specific wording of the task was as follows: "People cannot always achieve what they want in their lives and sometimes they are forced to stop their efforts to achieve the goals they have set. Please list the obstacles that you think you will encounter in achieving the goal."
Procedure
The data was obtained using several sub-studies, which were related to setting goals and the occurrence of obstacles in achieving them in various areas of a person's life - losing weight, studying, any personal goal or one that the respondent wants to achieve by a certain age. Respondents answered the question either electronically or in the form of pencil and paper. The obtained data were processed using Microsoft Excel 2016 and IBM SPSS 21 software. Sociodemographic data were processed using descriptive analysis (arithmetic mean, standard deviation). The analysis of the respondents' answers to the open question took place with the participation of two experts who carried out a content analysis with an effort to incorporate the answers into the already existing classification. Subsequently, the frequency of occurrence of individual categories of obstacles was determined, expressed by relative frequency.
Results
A total of 1,507 respondents' answers were analysed, as some stated that they face multiple obstacles in achieving the set goal, or were directly asked to list multiple obstacles (depending on the specific study). Naturally, many responses occurred repeatedly (eg laziness, procrastination, lack of time, stress, etc.). For this reason, 235 different obstacles were finally extracted, with which the respondents struggle in achieving the goal they set.
Of the subjective obstacles, the most represented were those related to the current physical and mental state (33.9%). We included obstacles such as stress, general psychological state, fear of revealing weaknesses, perceived overload, personal problems, helplessness, incompetence, emotional exhaustion, fear of failure, depression, self-esteem, memory, doubt about the goal, fear of being alone, fear of failure, mood, overcoming the past, dislike of crowds, sadness, nervousness, anxiety, doubts about self, perceived discomfort, infatuation, loneliness, fear of presentation, feeling of incompetence, fear of disappointment, health problems, illness, genetics, menstruation, fatigue, exhaustion, metabolism, hunger, physiology, sensory hypersensitivity.
The second most common type of subjective obstacles were those related to low self-control (29.5%). These include impatience, weak will, lack of motivation, little self-discipline, low endurance, lust, discontinuity of activity, dislike, love of food, addiction to sweets, perceived meaninglessness/inadequacy of the goal, procrastination, lack of focus, habit (unwillingness to change the established), lack of effort, inability to keep a job, high work pace, not knowing what I want, compulsion, inertia, poor time management, lack of preparation, lack of a life goal, excuses, loss of interest in the goal, lack of interest, lack of preparation, inconsistency, desires, denial of reality, instability in opinions, persistent thoughts.
Personality factors represented 21.4% of subjective obstacles. We have included here laziness, convenience, low self-confidence, negativism, excessive responsibility, irresponsibility, human imperfection, excessive kindness and wishful thinking, pride, gullibility, shyness, timidity, prejudice, creativity, unsociability, indecisiveness, indecision, the person himself as such, inability to deny himself, egoism, nature, emotional instability, weak eloquence, stubborn ideas and beliefs.
The competitive goal accounted for 15.2% of subjective obstacles, while obstacles such as tasty food, school duties (credits, exams, graduation, state papers, writing the final thesis), work duties, other duties, hobbies, sports activities, role conflict, PC games, social networks, TV, thinking about ending the pursuit of the goal, series, better program, social life, other priorities, wanting to quit, concurrent studies were included.
We did not identify an obstacle that would fall into the subcategory of forgetting the goal in the data we obtained. In total, subjective obstacles made up 47.7% of all obstacles.
As for objective obstacles, the most represented were those of a situational nature (36.6%), such as stagnation, no progress, celebrations, food at school, bureaucracy, teaching methods, uncertainty, exam period, amount of subject matter, boredom, failure, graduation (fresh graduate), competition, interview, complications, loss, previous experience, unemployment, real estate price, need to study, psychotests, change of residence, possibilities of application, travel for work, disappointment, separation from family, financial crisis, busyness, help in the house, late arrivals at home, bad conditions, sin, theft, busyness, failure, Christmas, family problems, high demands, unexpected events, death of a loved one, high demands made, biased assessment, relationship problems, unfulfilled conditions, low quality of goods.
They were followed by obstacles of a social nature (30.1%), for example, family pressure, people's attitudes, cultural life, childcare, employer, social life, roommate, teacher's lack of interest, people's reluctance, partner, problem with the teacher, starting a family, not being accepted by the environment, others' unwillingness to cooperate, lack of interest from others, inability to influence others' decisions, political situation, gender stereotypes, no support from family, current social situation, parents' expectations, haters, problems in the family, alienation, I seem unsympathetic, fear of the family, non-cooperation of classmates, lack of support, influence of classmates, bad team, bad environment, disapproval of loved ones, conflicts, impatience of others, irrepressible men, communication, the devil.
Resources represented 24.4% of objective obstacles. We included lack of time, lack of energy, price of healthy food, lack of information, lack of knowledge, lack of data, few opportunities to achieve a goal, non-motivating material, lack of finance, difficulty finding a partner, lack of jobs, mortgage, lack of ideas, lack of sleep, low salary evaluation, cost of living, lack of experience, low subsidy from the government, offers, lack of sex, lack of courage, lack of acquaintances, low qualification, lack of rest, lack of contact, lack of space, unavailability of the gift, poor quality notes, lack of knowledge of the language, too many options.
The least numerous obstacles were of a physical nature (8.9%), such as distance, landscape, location, weather, noise, winter, route, transport, new environment, daily transport, accessibility. Objective obstacles made up 52.3% of all answers.
Within the complete set of obstacles, situational obstacles (19.1%), followed by mental and physical condition (16.2%), social obstacles (15.7%), low self-control (14.1%), resources (12.8%), personality factors (10.2%), competitive goal (7.2%), physical obstacles (4.7%), forgetting the goal (0%) were most represented. For better clarity, the above-mentioned data are processed into a table (Table).
Table 1 Categorization of obstacles
Discussion
Due to the fact that the literary sources so far present several different perspectives with which the nature of the obstacle can be viewed, it was necessary to determine which of them will be key for us. As the classification criterion according to the cause is most often mentioned in expert studies, that is, the division of obstacles into subjective (Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997) and objective (Marguc, Forster & Van Kleef, 2011) nature, we proceeded to use it. Subjective hindrance can take the form of a competing goal, goal forgetfulness, and low self-control (Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997). An objective obstacle can have a physical, situational, social form, or it can result from a lack of resources (Marguc, Forster & Van Kleef, 2011). During the content analysis and categorization of obstacles into the already existing scheme, we came across many obstacles that could not be classified into any of the predetermined categories. Therefore, we proceeded to create two more subcategories within subjective obstacles, which are the current state (mental and physical) and personality factors. Addressed respondents cited subjective and objective obstacles to approximately the same extent. Milyavskaya, Inzlicht, Hope and Koestner (2015) specify that what the individual subjectively perceives and evaluates as an obstacle and cause of failure is more important.
Of the objective interfering variables, obstacles that were mainly of a situational nature dominated, such as excessive bureaucracy, the type of diet or a predetermined teaching model. They were followed by distractors in the form of social circumstances such as social pressure, family relationships or a lack of interest from a close or distant social environment. External physical circumstances, such as distance or location, were the least mentioned.
Among the subjective obstacles, those that reflected the current psychological and physical state of the individual had the largest representation. They also represented a new subcategory created by us. Here, the respondents mentioned mainly the circumstances of their current psychological and emotional state, but also self-underestimation or doubts about the correctness or attainability of the goal. In this context, Marguc, Förster, and Van Kleef (2011) make it clear that an individual's doubts about his abilities to achieve a goal may lead him to give up on it prematurely without creating a new, more attainable alternative. On the contrary, if the individual evaluates overcoming obstacles as a challenge, it can be a good prerequisite for the successful achievement of the goal. In addition, respondents mentioned subjective obstacles in the form of reduced self-control, such as impatience or weak will. In this context, Baumeister and Alquist (2009) explain that strong will is the basis of self-control as the ability to resist current temptations, which is a prerequisite for successful goal achievement. The second new subcategory of subjective obstacles with the character of personality factors, be it laziness, negativism or irresponsibility, also proved to be interesting. We did not identify an obstacle that would fall into the subcategory of forgetting the goal in the data we obtained.
Conclusion
The aim of the mentioned study was to categorize and describe in terms of content specific obstacles that enter the process of achieving the goal. As the basic criterion for classification, we chose their cause, which divides obstacles into objective and subjective. Of the objective interfering variables, current situational obstacles dominated. Among the subjective obstacles, those that reflected the individual's current psychological and physical state, for example in the form of stress or current psychological discomfort, had the largest representation.
Authors: doc. Mgr. Monika HRICOVÁ, PhD PhDr. Radka ČOPKOVÁ, PhD.
Grant VEGA 1/0748/19 Characteristics of decision-making and crisis in the process of achieving goals.
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