*Direction, not Goal*
I’ve had this epiphany that what really matters is setting directions, not goals.
If you set a goal, you either miss or hit.
If you miss, you run the risk of feeling like you failed.
If you hit, it may not be what you actually wanted; or even if it was, now what?
But if you set a direction, you will have continuous motion until you need to, or decide to, redirect.
Like a fish in water, now swimming this way, now swimming that way.
Goal: “I want to be accepted into Harvard.”
Direction: “I want to be accepted into the best school for me that I can get into.”
Goal: “I want to be Head of Department.”
Direction: “I want to advance in my career as far as it is beneficial to me.”
Goal: “I want to win.”
Direction: “I want to learn.”
Indeed, setting Direction is one way to find your way out of a forest if lost: Focus on a tree far away and walk to it; then focus on another tree in the same direction and walk to that. Repeat.
Goals are binary; hit or miss; win or lose; love or hate.
Directions are continuous; momentum; movement; learning.
Set Directions, not Goals.
