The Science of Finishing What You Start With Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey is trying to solve the gap between setting goals and actually following through on them. In this episode, we dig into helping you to stop relying on vague motivation or willpower and instead align your goals, priorities, and daily actions with what matters most to you. In today’s conversation Chris Bailey explores why intention is deeper than goal setting and why follow-through depends on aligning daily actions with values and priorities. He and Dr. Wells unpack Bailey’s “intention stack,” the science of human values, and the hidden role of aversion in procrastination. They also examine how people can redesign goals so they feel more meaningful, attractive, and realistic. The conversation ultimately turns productivity into something more human: a way of acting with purpose instead of simply doing more.You will learn how Chris defines intention, how values quietly shape motivation and follow-through, why priorities sit between values and goals, how procrastination is often driven by aversion rather than laziness, and why time awareness is one of the most practical tools for becoming more intentional. You will also hear a simple daily practice he uses himself: setting three clear intentions for the day before the noise begins.You will discover that a goal is not just a wish or an ambition. In Bailey’s framing, it is a prediction about where your current and planned actions will take you, which means better follow-through depends on designing those actions far more carefully.This episode helps solve the challenge of knowing what you want but repeatedly failing to act on it. Bailey gives listeners a framework for making goals more doable by connecting them to values, reducing aversion, and translating them into concrete daily intentions.Key take aways:Goals fail when they clash with values. Priorities connect values to goals.Aversion drives procrastination.Time awareness creates better action.Three daily intentions sharpen focus.