Principles, Parenting & Purpose

The Problem With Goals

May 6, 2024

If you’ve ever tried to pick something to watch on Netflix, you know the first problem: too many goals. (Finishing a movie, or a series, is a goal.) Too many options is worse than too few.

But worse than too many options is no goal at all. No goal; no purpose. Simple, and depressing. Literally.

And even worse than no goal at all is a goal that is completely unobtainable, offers no path forward, but is highly valued.

And finally, the last problem with goals. Plenty of goals. No priority!

To sum up, we have:

too many goals

no goals

a high-priority goal that is too big

no priority

So, how do you move forward?

Understanding the problem well is often 90% of the solution. This is how talking about our problems can be productive. But it’s not sufficient to talk; you must also take action. Solve the problem by writing things down! Start with the problem.

For the problems with goals, here are a few concrete steps:

Write them down. Get them out of your head, and into a medium where you can work with them. Paper and pencil, emails to yourself, a spreadsheet, or an app—whatever works best for you!

Organize them: must-do, should-do, nice-to-do. Something has got to be more important. If everything is important, nothing gets done. Group them into a hierarchy if you have a large enough set of goals. Ten lists just puts you back where you started!

Size them: small, medium, large. Small stuff should be easy—just do it!—done! But the large stuff will require planning. And the extra large stuff may need another app, or a journal, if you prefer paper.

Whatever the size, break them down, organize and prioritize until all your goals are actionable, you have a clear path forward, and you’re clear about what matters most. Then? Go!

Keep moving!