Goal-oriented thinking
Times have been harder recently. The ups and downs have come thick and fast. I have had to do some deep thinking contingency planning, especially in the last two months. Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I am close to enjoying the emergence into that light. Goal-oriented thinking and cautious optimism are what has kept me going.
Setting goals is easy. The far more difficult part is keeping them at the forefront of one’s mind when working towards them. There are eight life goals I established in the early months of last year. The time frame for each is achievement by 2024, and this year I have started tracking progress towards their realisation.
Rich Dad Poor Dad Book
I recently came across a book by Robert Kiyosaki about learning how to harness the power of money and understand your personal cash flow. So far it is an entertaining read. Interesting points are helpfully illustrated by charming anecdotes of the author’s upbringing in post-war America. It poses questions for discussion at the end of each chapter and seems to do a good job of covering the dull subject of financial accounting while making it fun.
The most important thing I have gleaned from turning the pages so far is that life has a way of pushing people around without them noticing. The crucial thing is how people react to these pushes and pulls from life’s currents. I have my goals but feel now that life has been moving me off course. These shifts have been happening without me realising. I have felt like I am going forward at times, but really I have been veering sideways.
Moving Forward Meaningfully
Much has been written on the psychology of goal setting, and I have listened to a lot of Jordan Peterson on the topic of goals. He is a big believer in the notion that Human Beings have to have something to aim at in order to move forward in a meaningful way.
For most of last year, I trundled forward, dealing with the shifts in my lifestyle and reacting to various mini-crises. I think that although I had planned where I was going and how I would like to get there, I made little progress. For the next few years, I aim to be less buffeted around by the eddies and currents of life and more proactive, more focused, more goal-oriented.
A Personal Goal-oriented Audit
It is easy to say you’re going to take control, but how does one do this in practice? Well, this year, towards the end of every calendar month, I am doing a goal-oriented audit. Solely to maintain focus on my life goals and ensure I am striving towards them.
The main purpose of this audit is carrying out a review of each goal, specifically looking at three areas:
- What went well
- What didn’t go well
- What I will do more of in the coming month
Gathering Feedback
Goal-oriented thinking may take me far along a path but I want to be certain I am taking the right path. As a checking mechanism, I sent the first goal-oriented audit to a number of close friends and asked for their feedback.
It is early days and only a couple of the handful of friends I sent the audit to have responded but the feedback so far has been invaluable. I have been reassured that I am taking positive steps and also that even small amounts of progress are worth recording, and in some cases, celebrating. There have also been reminders that I should be wary of defining the goals too specifically. Lest I be disappointed in the scenario I fall short.
A word on Rationality
The fluidity of goals in the face of life’s happenings reminds me of just how much potential there is for chaos. It also seems to me that humans are not so much the rational actors we are so often assumed to be. We are driven by deeper forces than intellect. Much of the decision-making people do on a daily basis happens as a result of their emotional and intuitive systems.
I hope to counter this inherent irrationality. Essentially, by becoming more goal-oriented and actively assessing progress towards my own goals on a regular basis, I hope to smooth out the ups and downs. Overall, I wish to prevent the tides of confusion from washing me up on some deserted shore.
To be honest I far prefer chaos to goals. Goals seem to me to trivialise and materialise life. Chaos be contrast seems to represent flowing like flotsam on a tide. And the reality is that probably floating with the tides and currents is all we can do. Battling against them seems such tedious hard work.
Thanks for your thoughts, Anthony. Going with the flow hasn’t had the results I had hoped, therefore, the more active stewardship. Time will tell if it is any more effective in bringing about the situation I desire.