On New Year’s Day, I was feeling pretty good because I’d come up with four big goals for 2013, when I read this post from Brigitte, where she talks about how you shouldn’t set goals for the new year.
Brigitte and I agree on a lot (like the importance of getting off the Internet), but this is one area where we diverge. Sort of.
After reading Brigitte’s post, I started thinking about how I felt before and after setting those big goals, and the truth is, having those goals makes me feel good. It makes me feel focused. It makes me happy. (And, it gives me permission to spend time on the things I really want to spend time on.)
In 2012, I really didn’t have goals. I drifted. And while I very likely needed that time and space to drift, for most of the year, I didn’t feel like me. Because, it turns out, I am a Goal Oriented Person.
There’s a lot of pressure to set goals or resolutions or just targets for self, life, or business improvement at the start of the year. And many people are keen to share their strategies and systems. But I’m not going to do that.
Instead, I’m going to challenge you to think about your personality and motivations and find the goal setting (or non-goal setting) plan that works for you. Look at the different ways that people are setting themselves up for the new year, and ask yourself how those align with your personality
For example, when it comes to the new year, you see lots of people starting 365 projects. “I will do X every day for the whole year.” How would that kind of project make you feel? Do you need that kind of structure to get things done? For me, having to do something every single day (or even every single week) gives me hives. It’s why I work for myself. So you won’t see me starting a 365 project anytime soon. But you may thrive on that kind of structure.
You can apply this same kind of thinking to every other way you see people planning the new year. Goal setting. Having a word for the year. Making resolutions. Going with the flow. Or whatever other systems and plans are out there. Give yourself permission to think through all of these, to mentally try them on for a few minutes or a few hours or even a few days, and see how they feel.
The secret to success means matching your actions with your own motivations and personality. Until you find that, things will always feel out of sync. Ultimately, any plan needs to feel good to you. (And this is where I agree with Brigitte. Feelings and desires do matter.)
There is no one size fits all solution. It’s about finding what feels right for you. So I’ll be keeping my big goals. And Brigitte will follow her feelings. And hopefully you’ll find something that works for you too. Because when you align your goals (or non-goals) with who you really are, that’s where you’ll find success.
Goal setting can be counter-productive if people use that to beat themselves up with. Glad that you brought up the fact that one size DOESN’T fit all & that you encouraged people to be in sync with themselves.
I like to have goals. My goals are never that I will do a particular thing each day though. That would not be fun.
I am creating in a small space (10×10) and my business has out grown that space. So my goal this year is to expand my space and hire a production helper. Seems doable.
Hi Megan – It was exciting to see such a thoughtful response to my post. I couldn’t agree more with this statement: “The secret to success means matching your actions with your own motivations and personality.”
In my post, I linked to a study on the drawbacks of goals. A big one is a narrowing of your focus. The study asks: Goals “work” but at what cost?
Instead of setting typical, measurable goals, the study suggests a focus on daily tasks (like painting or working out). If you let go of the outcome, while still doing those daily tasks, you’ll see the results you want, but it’ll feel different along the way.
In this paradigm, you can still plan ahead — which I do — and be open to unanticipated opportunities.
All this to say, I don’t think your approach to goal-setting and my ungoaling look that different in application. On both ends of the spectrum, you still have to get up each day and do the work.
This is a great post. I have several goals this year. Last year I wasnt focused and going with the follow. I plan on hitting all my goals this year and turning my business around.