Over a decade ago,
I stopped setting goals.
Not because they don’t work.
Or aren’t enjoyable.
But because they didn’t work for me.
And I found no fun in them.
Not long term.
Not after that hyped up feeling
of imagining all the good that would come in the future
had slipped away
only to be replaced with a plan that felt like a noose
too tight around my neck.
Only to be replaced by guilt
of not sticking to said plan.
Of not doing what I meant to.
𝘏𝘢𝘥 to—
if I was ever going to meet those goals.
So, I stopped.
With goals.
With plans.
At first, there was relief.
Finally doing things my way!
Then rose unsettledness.
Without goals it sometimes felt like driving in the desert without GPS.
Sand, only sand, always sand.
Where was water?
Where was food?
Without directions I might find it in time.
Or not.
The unsettledness passed quickly.
Going on intuition instead of on a carefully crafted plan felt so much better!
My results didn’t really change either.
Since I dropped goals,
I never looked back.
Even forgot it was ever a thing I once did.
But now I’m back on LinkedIn.
Read posts, here and there.
And realize:
Oh. Right.
That paradigm of setting goals still lives strongly here.
Which is fine.
There’s nothing wrong with setting goals.
Unless there is.
Unless it slowly sucks the daylight out of you, too.
If so, know that you don’t have to set them.
Surprisingly, you can survive without them.
And yes, your business can do without them, too!
Sometimes you’ll feel good.
Sometimes you’ll feel restless.
Sometimes you’ll be happy.
Sometimes you’ll feel down.
Your results will please you.
Your results will disappoint you.
Some days you’ll be proud of yourself.
Some days you’ll think you’ve done everything wrong.
In short:
Nothing changed.
Life is still life.
Things still just happen.
Some you like.
Some you don’t.
If you love setting goals, have at it.
If not, it’s safe to stop.
Love,
P.S. So much more freedom is available to you.
That’s what my private coaching is all about.
P.P.S Liked this blog?
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