Goals Suck...

First, in order to understand achievement, we have to understand motivation…

There are four key drivers that motivate us;

·        Achievement of a future Goal – seeking pleasure – towards motivation

·        Relief from Pressure – removing pain – away from motivation

·        Internal factors – making us feel good to ourselves – internal reference

·        External factors – making us look good to others – external reference

This is why simply having a Goal doesn’t work – it only satisfies one of the criteria – for a Goal to be engaging and motivational for us it needs to engage all of our drivers in the appropriate way.

First – let’s clear up why Goals Suck…

Having a Goal would appear to be the panacea of achievement – there are books, videos, gurus and seminars that will tell you that Goals are the key to success and that without them you are useless. The Goals that they are talking about tend to be those that are future based – how many adverts have you seen that predict more money, better lifestyle and happier families. Network Marketers and Franchisors take note…

A Goal by itself is an excuse – it makes us feel good because we can carry with us the feint image of better times to come, but we don’t ever have to achieve it because the “feel good” comes from imagining the possibility rather than actually achieving it. 

If we feel good, or perceive the benefit of a Goal without actually having to achieve it, then we find excuses to do so...

In the 2006 movie Tristan and Isolde which is based on the 12^th Century English legend known as Tristan and Iseult, the major issue regarding Goals is explained. In a scene where Tristan has conquered all before him and won the battle, he is sat on his throne looking forlorn.

Asked by one of his lieutenants why, after achieving everything that he set out to do, he is not full of joy, Isolde replies – “because he has lost the most precious thing he had – he has lost his dream…” or words to that effect…

Achieving a Goal means that we come to an end – the dream that we have becomes reality and as such the dream evaporates. Reality rarely lives up to the dream we have when creating it, so by definition the achievement of a Goal is a let-down. Paradoxically we cannot live without a dream or vision of our future and this is the very reason we are compelled not to actually achieve them – we simply want to keep the dream alive.