Here’s Another Thing They Taught You Wrong at School: Goal Setting
Do your TOEIC goals make you feel stressed and burned out? The problem isn't your motivation—it’s the type of goal you’re setting. This article reveals how to apply Think and Grow Rich to create process-oriented habits that build momentum and guarantee results.
At school, they teach you to set goals like:
“I will get 800 points in 3 months.”
“I will become fluent by the end of the year.”
But have you ever noticed…
those goals never happen?
You’ve probably set goals like that before.
You might even be setting one right now.
And yet, the more you focus on the result, the further away it feels.
Here’s why:
School taught you to chase outcomes.
But it never taught you to build processes.
So you end up obsessed with numbers you can’t control,
while ignoring the actions that actually produce results.
It’s like being told to grow a tree, but no one teaches you to plant seeds.
The “Outcome Goal” Trap — Emotional Failure Loop
When you set goals like “800 points in 3 months,”
you’re not setting a goal.
You’re setting a daily failure test.
Every day becomes a check-in:
“Am I closer?”
“Am I good enough yet?”
Most days, the answer feels like no.
The result?
You lose focus.
You feel stressed.
You burn out.
And the score doesn’t move.
It’s not that the goal was too high.
It’s that the goal was the wrong kind of goal.
What Think and Grow Rich Really Teaches — Process is Everything
Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich isn’t a book about sitting and wishing for success.
It’s about persistent, daily action.
But it’s not about working yourself to death.
It’s about short, intense, focused actions that compound over time.
At MTC, we don’t coach you to study for hours.
We coach you to win small, daily victories.
For example:
“I will do 20 minutes of focused mistake analysis every day, correcting my weak points with full attention.”
“I will practice listening drills for 15 minutes with total concentration, reacting to every sound immediately.”
“I will solve 3 reading problems under time pressure, driving my reaction speed.”
It’s not about studying longer.
It’s about studying with more focus in shorter, sharper bursts.
You Don’t Get Results. You Become Someone Who Gets Results.
Outcome goals make you think you’re chasing a score.
Process goals build the version of you that earns that score.
When you shift to process goals:
You measure success in actions, not emotions.
You stay in control.
You build habits that outlast the test.
The score is just a checkpoint.
The real victory is becoming the person who can create results on demand.
REMEMBER — The Number Is Not the Goal. The Process Is.
Outcome goals trap you in emotional failure loops.
Process habits build steady momentum.
Short, high-focus sessions beat long, unfocused marathons.
Think and Grow Rich is about daily deliberate action, not wishful thinking.
At MTC, we don’t teach you to “hope” for a high score.
We coach you to become the person who produces it, one focused action at a time
Want to Learn More?
Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!
Why Atomic Habits Is the Book You Should Have Read Years Ago — TOEIC Success and Life Success Start Here
Success on the TOEIC isn't just about goals; it's about the systems you build. Discover how the "1% Rule" from Atomic Habits can transform your daily routines into powerful, consistent actions that lead to a higher score and lasting success.
What is Atomic Habits?
James Clear's Atomic Habits is a book about how small, consistent actions create big changes. It teaches that success isn't just about setting big goals, but about the daily patterns and habits that move you towards those goals.
One of the core ideas is: "You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
In other words, your habits and routines — the things you do every day without thinking — decide if you'll reach your TOEIC goals. So you need to work on your habits, and that's exactly what we encourage here at My TOEIC Coach (MTC). Improve your habits, and you will improve your TOEIC score — and even your life.
This is one of those books that, once you read it, you wonder why you didn’t find it years ago. As Chuck Jones once said, "The difference between you now and you in five years is the people you meet and the books you read." Atomic Habits is absolutely one of those books.
The 1% Rule: Small Wins That Build TOEIC Power
One powerful idea from the book is the "1% Rule." Instead of trying to make huge improvements all at once, you focus on small, daily actions that slowly but surely build up over time.
For example:
A learner who reviews their vocabulary list for just 2 minutes before bed improves their word recall. Research shows that reviewing before sleep can boost memory retention by over 70%.
Another learner watches their favourite Netflix show with English subtitles. This simple, enjoyable habit helps train their ear to English rhythm and phrasing, which often leads to better Listening scores.
These are small actions, but when done consistently, they build powerful results. It’s not about studying longer. It’s about making small habits that work for you.
Start a Great Habit Today
The ideas in this book are not complicated, but they are powerful. Even one small change — like reviewing vocabulary for a few minutes before bed — can lead to big results over time.
If you want to make lasting improvements to your TOEIC score, and to your daily life, start by reading this book. It will give you tools that keep paying off for years.
Build a better habit. Buy the book.
Want to Learn More?
Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!