Principles, Parenting & Purpose

Goals Are Good

April 24, 2019

Learn from the past, set vivid and detailed goals for the future, and focus on the only moment of time you truly control: now.

“You develop a vision of what you would like your life to be. …\[your neurological reward system\] works better when it can see you moving toward a valued goal. What’s the implication of that? Better have a valued goal! Because, otherwise, you can’t get any positive emotion.” – Jordan B. Peterson

However, you might not always want to share your goals with others:

“Announcing your goal widens your intention-behavior gap.” – Why You Shouldn’t Tell People About Your Goals - College Info Geek

Whatever you do, don’t settle—keep moving forward:

“Keep your long-term goal alive. Burn it into your soul. Think about it. Write it down. Speak it out loud. Post it where you can see it. But above all, act on it. Do something every day that makes it real. Every second counts—you’re either gaining ground or losing it. So make every second count.” – Inspired by David Goggins & Jocko Willink

And here’s the secret: you don’t have to win the whole war each day. Just take one meaningful step forward. One second. One breath. One action.

As F. M. Alexander put it:

“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits—and their habits decide their futures.”

That single insight opens the door to one of the most powerful, practical, and readable books I’ve ever encountered about building a life that works: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.

If you’re trying to build a plan for your life—not a fantasy, but something real, something you can show up for every day—James's book should be the next one on your reading list.