When good intentions are good enough
This January, a realization has been forming in my mind: Goals don’t motivate me.
Goals — those wonderful, SMART definitions of a future state — simply don’t inspire clarity of mind and motivate me to action.
I guess I struggle to think linearly — “do this, then this, then you’ll get there.”
I am motivated by intention. Purpose. Strategy. Direction. Themes. Systems. Connections. These are abstract. Non-linear. There are very few straight lines in my head.
Recently labeling this characteristic about myself has helped me better understand why yearly and quarterly goals have never been quite satisfying or fully effective in my personal life or work.
So, this January, I’m going to try something else: define intentions, not goals.
I’ve written a short list of directional intentions for 2018.
For each intention:
- Set one or two daily or weekly habits; small actions to move in the intended direction.
- Review and adjust my environment so that it is conducive to performing these habits. Optimized for starting.
- Occasionally — once a month or so — I’ll check in to affirm or adjust my direction.
An example:
- Intention — “In 2018, I want to read more than articles. I want to read books.”
- Habit — “Listen to something in Audible every day.”
- Environment — “The airwaves of morning commute are now reserved for Audible only. No podcasts, music or radio.”
If, as the year goes on, a few traditional goals may present themselves. Great! I’ll work them into the mix.
But, I’m not going to put pressure on where I must end up before I see what the journey brings.
Do you know the feeling of after learning something new, you suddenly see it everywhere?
Literally hours after the first draft of this post, I heard an episode of The Nod where the brilliant Britney Luse shares her method for handling new year “resolutions” in a similar way, but better. (You should stop reading and go listen to that podcast.)
Now (a few days later), I re-discovered this article by one of my productivity heros, James Clear. He said it better.
“Commit to processes, not goals”.
Only on reflection have I realized how much pressure goals create in my mind. Not only the goals themselves, but also wanting to make goals work for me.
Someday, I’ll might grow back into a learning process that uses goals. But for now — this year — I’m going to try a different approach. And be okay with it.
That is my intention.
