what	you	want	going	forward.
Right
	
on	Target
Behaviors	that	you	want	to	reduce	or	change—like	problematic	avoidance—
are	what	psychologists	call	“target	behaviors.”	They	are	the	behaviors	that	we
will	target	with	our	interventions.	Target	behaviors	are	often	unproductive
things	you	continue	to	do,	even	though	they’re	self-defeating.
For	example,	Jase	feared	public	speaking	and,	as	a	result,	avoided	any
kind	of	group	meeting	at	work.	In	reality,	he	knew	his	job	well	and	wished	he
could	show	off	his	talents	through	public	speaking.	To	start,	we	targeted
Jase’s	pattern	of	skipping	meetings.	We	wanted	to	reduce,	and	ultimately
eliminate,	that	avoidance	behavior.	He	agreed	to	at	least	attend	work	meetings
but	not	put	any	initial	pressure	on	himself	to	speak.	Then	he	built	up	to
gradually	asking	a	question,	and	eventually	making	longer	and	longer