Stop Setting Definite Goals!
Focus on this instead
I listened to a fascinating Ted Talk on Friday by an ex-NFL player.
His goal: Make the first 3 drafts of the NFL trials in 3 years.
Nothing else mattered. He worked tirelessly, got up super early, and trained non-stop to reach that goal.
The first of the trials 3 years later, in front of 32 billionaires, was a sprint test.
He set off pounding the ground as fast as he could. 30 seconds in he ripped his calf muscle off his bone and hit the ground, unable to compete any further.
His takeaway from this…..
Don’t set definite goals, you’ll end up disappointed.
Have flexible goals and focus on the day-to-day.
He ended up playing for the NFL for 4 years but then shifted into being an extremely successful TV personality and motivational speaker.
His mindset shift regarding goals allowed this success so we’ll dive into what this shift was. I’ll also add a key ingredient from my own business experience and show you how it can drive you forward.
“Don’t Set Definite Goals You’ll end up Disappointed”?
It’s a sweeping statement but there were two interesting points he made.
- Setting goals and failing to reach them is demotivating
- What if you could have gone much further than that goal and setting it limited you?
Point 1 argues that goal setting does the opposite of what it is supposed to. Humans are lousy at setting goals;
- We don’t understand ourselves or our capabilities very well
- We set goals without enough thought and with too much optimism.
Thus, we often fail to reach those goals and that is where the demotivation comes in.
Point 2 argues:
By setting a goal we may actually miss out on going much further because we had that specific destination set into our subconscious.
For example, what if your goal is to earn $100,000 this year but if you hadn’t set that goal you could have earned $200,000?
In his own life, he has now become a huge TV personality and public speaker and this is far more in line with where he feels he should be.
If he hadn’t been so laser-focused on playing in the NFL he believes he would have realised that a lot sooner and not wasted all those years.
He then argued that we SHOULD have goals i.e. Something that we work toward but they should be flexible. Meaning:
- No “due date” for the goal
- Be open to the possibility of that goal changing as you learn and grow
I think this is a really interesting idea but I want to add to it…
Results-Based Goals Versus Action-Based Goals
In my own experience, I agree that setting and missing goals can be demotivating.
Also, our goals tend to be long-term and we naturally stretch ourselves. That means there is plenty of room to lose focus and become demotivated before we even get anywhere near the goal.
These are “results-based goals” i.e. the goal is focused on one specific result, normally relatively far into the future.
For example, I want to make $100,000 by the end of the year.
Action Based Goals
I do have my goal of making a certain amount of money each month but I keep it flexible, as put forward by our NFL player/TV personality.
I don’t have a definite time frame in mind of when this should happen but…
…here’s the crucial bit…
…I take action toward that goal each and every day.
This keeps me motivated because:
- The actions tend to be small i.e. for me; get up early every day and write on Medium
- They are relatively easy to achieve
- It feels like I reach my goal every day. Instead of waiting for some distant future that seems really far away.
That long-term goal has been broken down into much smaller “action-based goals” that you can work towards and feel like you are achieving each day!
Celebrate Yourself After Every Small Win
The last thing to add to make this strategy successful is to celebrate your small wins all the time!
As an example, every time I get up in the morning and write, I put a big red cross on my calendar for the day, which is located in a place where I see it all the time.
This releases dopamine in my brain which produces a positive emotional response and positive memory associated with the behaviour that released the dopamine — i.e. waking up and writing the article.
You can do this in many ways. For example;
- If you sit down and focus for 25 minutes straight on a task you reward yourself with 5 minutes of social media.
- Maybe you are a chocolate lover and after every stint of time or every small win, you reward yourself with a small dose of your favourite chocolate.
This strategy makes sure that you’re not waiting for the big “pay-off”, which could be a goal a long time into the future, to receive your dopamine hit!
Instead, It is constantly being released and you feel more and more positive about the little wins you have each day.
Those little wins each day will undoubtedly lead to you achieving the main goal over time and, who knows, you may well achieve far more than you originally set out to achieve!
To really boost your productivity I recommend you read this article next:
So there you have it, why I am absolutely against setting definite goals, despite conventional wisdom!
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Thanks so much for all your support!
Speak soon,
Christian
