The mind and brain sciences have uncovered important details about the mechanisms underlying goal attainment, including strategies to overcome obstacles. A suite of self-regulatory strategies have made relatively little contact with education, despite cost-effective methods and striking results in both educational contexts as well as other areas that impinge, often negatively, on educational outcomes (e.g., nutrition, addictions). This review starts with a description of two of these strategies: (1) "implementation intentions", in which a goal is framed as an IF-THEN statement where the IF defines the situational trigger or context and the THEN defines the behavioral response; (2) "mental contrasting", in which an individual frames a goal as a contrast between a future wish and a current obstacle. Part 2 reviews the empirical literature as it pertains to education. Part 3 concludes with a discussion of future directions, including limitations and extensions to populations with mental health challenges.