Stop planning and setting goals

We all love setting goals and planning how we’ll achieve them in the new year. I know I do! I love it so much that when I feel motivated and enthusiastic about something, instead of using the enthusiasm to take action, I grab my black notebook (it can’t be anything but black) and start this grandiose planning routine.

Even if I’ve already done it before.

Like, what if the previous plan isn’t good enough, and that’s why I still haven’t reached my goals?

After several hours of intense thinking and writing, I go back to doing the same meaningless things that bring me no closer to my goals.

The question is why?

Is it because I used the wrong “goal setting technique”? Maybe I need to watch some videos or better subscribe to another course that will teach me how to do it “right”?

In other words, I shift the responsibility for my inaction onto “bad” planning and ignore the fact that I never even tried to follow the plan.

But then why, being aware of this, I keep doing it over and over again?

Why do we like to plan our goals so much?

Writing goals, making plans and visualizing a better life makes us feel as if we already had it. We feel good and productive, even though we haven’t really done anything yet.

It’s like reading self-help books all the time and never putting them into practice.

We hope that finding the right way to set goals will guarantee us success.

As if there was some secret technique that successful people use — all we need to become like them is discover it. Then we’ll always be motivated, less stressed and be able to create our dream life quickly and effortlessly.

So when we fail, we go after another portion of articles or videos with titles like “how to set goals effectively” and “how to easily reach your goals”.

Isn’t it self-deception?

Setting the right goals and having a plan won’t eliminate the challenges or make achieving goals easy. It is hard to do something that you’ve never done before, even if you break the process into small steps.

It takes time and effort.

So why look for easy ways to achieve goals when you know it isn’t supposed to be easy?

And it seems to be the case for me personally that I assume that the more thorough my plan is, the fewer obstacles will come my way. But this is simply not true. Again, it will be hard and we won’t always have motivation, even if we visualize this ideal life we want. It is normal. We need to keep that in mind and get used to it.

Planning = procrastination

Another thing is goal setting often becomes a kind of procrastination, especially for perfectionists like me. We can’t live without lists, planning and trying to control everything. Oh, and we do not tolerate mistakes.

But what is the only way not to make them? Do nothing.

So we write those massive goals, become inspired, but when we need to take real action, we freeze.

What if we fail?

What if our expectations do not coincide with reality?

What if we’re not good enough?

We promise to do it later, and when we don’t, we go back to planning, making lists and “preparing” to start big.

And I’m not saying that poor planning can’t be the reason for our ineffectiveness. But is it really what keeps us from our goals? Or is it our unwillingness to face the slightest challenge?

Maybe we should stop lying to ourselves and expecting our journey to be easy? It won’t be easy and it shouldn’t be. It’s the difficulty that makes us grow, and we need to get comfortable with its necessity and inevitability.

So don’t overthink it. Don’t try to control everything. Accept the struggle and start doing something. After all, setting goals and planning isn’t about planning. It’s about action.

I’m going to say it again, plan less, do more.