Set Directions, not Goals.

*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.