Day 25: Goals are for losers? Really?
One of the most popular posts I’ve had on here has been the one that relates to systems vs. goals in Day 10.
I’ve recently picked up a new book that’s takes this idea and adds empirical rather than anecdotal evidence to support it. The book is called Stick with It: A Scientifically Proven Process for Changing Your Life For Good by Sean Young, PhD. I can’t give a full book review here because I’ve only read the first couple chapters, but I can share with you the idea of stepladders and how it directly relates to my 30 Days.
This 30 Days process has been something that seemed daunting from the outside looking in, but now that I’ve been in the game for the last 25 days, I’ve felt the victories add up as I’m able to cross off 15 or so things that I’m accomplishing everyday. This feeling of accomplishment through many small victories really has helped build the momentum to keep this going.
In Stick with It, the author looks at how to stay focused on the goals that we’ve made for ourselves, and uses what he calls the Stepladders model:
People often think they are planning small steps to reach their goals when they are actually creating really big steps. How do you get people to think small? I created the stepladders model of steps, goals, and dreams to solve this problem.
The size of the steps you plan depends on whether you are focused on dreams or goals. Dreams are bigger than goals. They are plans that typically take more than three months to achieve and which you haven’t ever achieved previously — like the first time an app developer crosses the coveted one-million-downloads mark. People need to be reminded of their dreams to keep them motivated, but focusing entirely on dreams can lead people to give up.
Instead, people should focus most of their energy trying to complete steps and goals. Goals are the intermediate plans people make. There are short-and long-term goals. Long-term goals typically take one month to three months to achieve, like learning the basics of a new language. A long-term goal could take more than three months to achieve, but only if it’s something you’ve already done before; otherwise it’s a dream . . . If you already have experience doing something, then it’s more realistic that you can achieve it and it becomes a goal rather than a dream. While long-term goals take one to three months, short-term goals typically take one week to one month.
Finally, there are steps. Steps typically take less than one week to accomplish. Steps are the little tasks to check off on the way toward a goal.
Using this model, you can see the similarities with Scott Adams’ goals vs. systems, and you can see how the 30 Days of Discipline program seemingly fits pretty nicely within this framework as well. Both 30 Days and “goals vs. systems” operate off a common-sense understanding of the world as well as tried and true experience, but the Stepladders model, as seen in Stick with It, bolsters our common-sense and experience with evidence.
The author notes, however, that:
It’s important to understand that stepladders isn’t a formula for accomplishing dreams. It’s a formula for keeping you on a path. People who use stepladders are less likely to quit and more likely to keep trying to reach their goals — which should in turn help them reach their dreams.
And:
Focusing on small steps allows people to achieve their goals faster than if they focused on dreams. Focusing on small steps also keeps people happier and more motivated to keep trying because they get rewarded more frequently.
So, boom, there you have it. The science (which I have not shared, but is neatly sourced in the book) backs up my personal experience.
For some time now, I’ve wanted to become a more disciplined, and just a better man in general. I’ve tried a lot of different systems, ideas, and projects with that goal in mind, but I haven’t ever tried anything as comprehensive as 30 Days. It’s truly a comprehensive lifestyle change, and the amazing thing about it is that it is something that you accomplish through small steps, day-by-day, where you often don’t even realize it. Then one day you look up and say, “Wow, I take cold showers every day. And yea I just woke up at 4:51am again and it wasn’t just to use the bathroom. And what? I’ve exercised 22 out of the last 25 days…” And you stand up a little straighter in front of the mirror. All of a sudden life has changed and you didn’t even see it coming. You just see the results. It is something else.
That’s all for today, we are drawing near the end of these 30 Days. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the ride thus far, I sure have.
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Quote of the Day
You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.
~Andrew Carnegie
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Links to Past Episodes/Resources:
Introduction Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10
Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20
Manfield’s Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self
If you have any feedback, please send me a message or leave it on my Facebook page: Thirty Days. This is a new project and I’d love to hear your thoughts. It is a tremendous encouragement to know that someone is reading this. Encouragement, comments AND criticism are welcome.
