The Truth About Goal Setting: Does It Really Work?
There are a lot of different opinions about goal setting. Some people believe that it's the key to success, while others think it's a waste of time. So, what's the truth? Does goal setting work? The answer is yes... and no. I think we've heard a lot of hype about goal setting that is complete and utter garbage, and it can actually cause us more harm than good if we're not careful! In this blog post, we will discuss the truth about goal setting and provide 6 proven rules to make goal setting work for you.
So first -
Why goal setting can be dangerous
Goal setting theory has many benefits. Performance goals can indeed help you work harder, find personal and professional success, focus more, increase productivity and perform better over time, according to decades of study. You can even live a more fulfilling life. However, goal setting can also destroy your creativity, make you more inclined to cheat, and reduce your chances of flourishing.
Danger #1 - setting performance oriented goals can mean that we become so focused on making progress and achieving our goals that we lose sight of what's truly important in our lives.
Danger # 2 - we can set priorities that are unrealistic and impossible to achieve. We set SMART goals that set ourselves up for disappointment and frustration which knocks our self confidence, problem solving and we simply wander in life.
The Biggest danger of goal setting
But for me, by far the biggest danger of goal setting is setting goals, especially lifetime goals, or career goals is that aren’t necessarily our own ambitions, but what we think we should do - or worse, what is expected of us.
To be successful with goal setting, especially with large scale goals we have to look at the beautiful game, football (or soccer for those outside of the UK). Football teaches us that there are six things that ultimately lead us in the right direction, help us achieve our objectives and become successful. Plus it's just great to use a sports analogy.
6 proven rules to make goal setting work for you (according to the beautiful game)
Rule 1: Set the boundaries
Football works because it has boundaries, and boundaries define the field of play. This is where the game must be played.
Before setting your goals - set your boundaries. What are you boundaries? These are you values. You values define the field on which the game must be played. You cannot set a goal in the absence of knowing your values, otherwise chaos ensues and you inevitably chase the wrong thing. You do something because you should and something that is not authentic to you.
It's crucial to take the time before do any goal setting to understand your personal, family and work values.
Rule 2: Set the rules
To stop the beautiful game descending into chaos, you need to clearly define the rules. What are your rules of life? These come out of knowing your values, your purpose - the reason you are here and what's important to you. Clearly articulate your rules. What are they? Maybe a rule is to always be home by 6? Well if that's the case, you can never set a goal that will require you to work until 7 every night because if breaks the rules.
What are you rules? Once you know these - setting goals becomes much easier because you can ensure that the game is being played on your terms.
Rule 3: Know your team
Football is not a solo sport, and neither is your life. There is a team. What you do impacts people around you. It's your family, it's your work mates. There is no point in me setting a goal without weighing the consequences of that decision for my team. I might want to double my company's sales, but what if my team is already flat out? I might like the sound of the goal, but my team doesn't.
Your team needs to be in alignment with you, they need to know the rules and you all need to be aiming for the same thing.
Rule 4: Understand what you are aiming for
In football, there is a clear objective - to score more goals than the other team and win the match.
All too often in life we set goals without understanding what we are aiming for. So we are told to write them down. The act of writing down our main goal, our short terms goals, our big goals doesn't magically give our best life! Have you seen your to do list...it doesn't work! Written goals help us if we take the time to understand them in the context of the rest of life. Then, they become powerful as we understand what we are aiming for.
It's important to have clarity in what you want to achieve and why it matters to you.
Rule 5: Systems are important
In football, there are systems that teams use to try and win matches. The system is the way in which players work together to score goals, how they do certain plays. Good managers focus on the system and not just the goals scored because that's how you win the long game.
The system is what you use to achieve your goal - its your plays. Want to loose weight? What's your system for doing that? How successful was it? You might not have lost weight today, but if part of your system is to stop eating unhealthy snacks - how well did you do, on a scale of 1-> 5? Work the system and you will achieve goals, do doubt!
Rule 6: Know what's stopping you
In football, there is always an opponent - something that is set up to stop you scoring and frustrate you. It's the same in life. What is stopping you achieving your goals? It might be something as simple as not having enough time, or not knowing how to do something.
The first step to overcoming these obstacles is to identify them. Once you know what they are, you can start to put a plan in place to overcome them.
Summary
Goal setting is a complex process that involves understanding personal, family and work values in order to set rules that work for your life. You also need to be aware of the impact of your actions on those around you and have a clear understanding of what you are aiming for. Finally, it's important to be aware of what's stopping you from achieving your goals and have a plan to overcome these obstacles.