What about if I am telling you that setting goals is TOTALLY USELESS?
Wait a second!
Everybody is shouting to set your goals bla bla bla (not everyone actually..)
..and what about your spiral ????
Did you make the exercise?
Did you realize that you are exactly today what you really want to become (even if you don’t like it?)
Good
Here I will explain you why setting goals is a total waste of time…and how to design your life better
Let’s start…
Why setting goals is useless
If you are like many people December 31 is setting goals day.
or better…
forget about the 90% of the goals not achieved the year just past and making another list of goals very likely identical to the one of the previous year or of the previous 5-10 years
One typical list might look like
1) Losing weight
2) Eat more vegetables
3) Exercising more
4) Walk more
5) Complain less
6) Change job
7) Cleaning more often the house
8) Making more money
9) Call more often your mother
10) Write a book
11) Start a blog
12) Learn how to play an instrument
13) etc etc
If you are an advanced goal setter you list can even look like this one:
1) Losing weigh: drop to XXXlb or YY Kg by end of the year
2) Eat vegetables at least 3 times a week
3) Exercising more: run/bike/swim at least 3 times a week for more than one hour
4) Walk XXXXX steps everyday
5) Stop complain
6) Change job by May 15 and move to a higher pay/job title one
7) Cleaning the whole house 2 times a week
8) Making XXXXX$ per year
9) Call your mother 3 times a week
10) Write a book about cooking by May 31
11) Start a blog by Jan 31
12) Learn how to play guitar good enough to play 1h a day every day
13) etc etc
Look at your goal list now…
If you are reading a blog on personal improvement like this one I am sure you have one
Are the same goals over and over in the list year after year?
You might also tried to break the yearly goal in monthly goal or weekly goal…maybe using the thousand of books and manual written out there that should have shown you the infallible method to reach your goals.
Maybe now you feel stupid or uncapable and every December 31 sadly you set the same goal being sure that this time will be the one you will achieve them! (and stopping following up on your goal on January 2!)
Don’t worry we all go throught that,,,you are not alone
The reason why you don’t reach what you call goals that you write on the list is that you don’t really…desperately…badly want them and you don’t feel the urgency to reach them.
Let me repeat it:
The reason why you don’t reach what you call goals that you write on the list is that you don’t really…desperately…badly want them and you don’t feel the urgency to reach them.
Period
Think about the things you wanted and achieved in life vs the one you think you want but not achieved yet.
What are the main differences?
The actions you took.
Plain, simple but so difficult to grasp.
Let’s go deeper
Why you achieved those things…? What’s so special with them?
Very likely because of social conditioning.
You got a diploma or a degree or a driver license because the society is pushing you to do so…there are schools for that right?
Very likely you do some sport not to have a too devastated body.
What else?
What about the goal to play decent piano, golf, guitar?
To start that blog?
Not done yet right…? No time…you are too busy right?
What about the dream to create something for yourself? To be a small entrepreneur?
Nothing right?
is it more easy to stay in the cushy corporate world where your boss is telling you what to do, right?
Now you know the answers…maybe you can watch a funny but profound Ted talk on why we don’t reach our goals and…why we achieve something… (watch it…short and worth it!)
The bad news?
Everything is up to you
there is no blog, no book, no seminar that will make you take the first action
The action is in your head.
You can decide Right now if take the action or do something else, go back to work or browsing the web just to waste you time
Waste your life or create something spectacular…
It’s totally up to you…