Why it’s Better to Have a Direction in Life, Not a Goal
As somebody who’s historically been an obsessive goal setter, I’ll be the first to admit the concept in this piece’s title is counterintuitive. Just what does it mean to have a direction in life and not a goal?
What it Means to Have a Direction in Life?
A good place to begin dissecting this title is by defining the difference between a direction and a goal. Having a direction in life means aiming towards a general ambition. Having a goal means aiming towards a definite outcome. The difference is best illustrated by these examples:
Direction: I want to do something with machines, I want a career centered around the human body, I want to help people in need.
Goal: I want to be the chief engineer of Ferrari’s Formula One Team, I want to run an online training business coaching and teaching calisthenics, I want to become a clinical psychiatrist at Stanford.
On the surface, the goals are more ambitious than the directions, which is why setting them consumes our developmental years. The first goal in those examples was, in fact, similar to the one I had when I started college. The exact phrasing was “I want to work in Formula One.” That goal was squashed within six weeks, though, and I’d spend the next ten years aiming towards intermittent goals with no direction. To say the least, there were many trying times.
The Problem with Goal Setting
At this point it’s important to make another distinction — I’m not against goal setting, but I am against centering your life around a single goal. There is a simple explanation to my opposition, and it’s one we’ve previously discussed in another Becoming Polymathic piece. That explanation is the opponent process mechanism.
The Opponent Process Mechanism
The opponent process mechanism describes the shift in neurochemical activity preemptive to and following a significant event. It’s enablement is driven by the brain’s natural desire to be in homeostasis and is mostly discussed in reference to the addiction cycle. When a significant event occurs, there is a dramatic shift in neurochemical activity. In trying to recover from this shift, the brain corrects itself with equal and opposite neurochemical activity.
Consistent repetition of this cycle, when referring to addiction, leads to the brain’s reward mechanisms falling out of homeostasis, causing the addicted individual to be constantly chasing that initial “peak”. The primary active neurochemical in the brain’s reward mechanism is dopamine, best defined as “the molecule of more”.
The Dopamine Cycle
When we experience pleasure, dopamine is released, which reinforces the pleasurable nature of that action in our brain. On the contrary, whenever we experience pain, dopamine is suppressed, which reinforces the unpleasurable nature of an action. Ultimately, this process leads to our brain producing dopamine in anticipation.
That final step is the dangerous part of this cycle, irrespective of the action being pleasurable or unpleasurable. Dopamine production in anticipation of an action means upon completion of that action, there is insufficient dopamine to stimulate the brain’s reward mechanism. Said another way, we build a tolerance, even if the action is goal setting.
Applying Neurobiology to Having a Direction in Life
With this understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms behind goal setting, we return to the initial discussion of having a direction in life compared to having a goal. Imagine the ecstasy of achieving a lifelong goal. All that hardship, sacrifice, and work has manifested itself. It’s a wonderful feeling. Now, imagine a time in the near future when somebody asks you this question — what’s next?
Here lies the core problem with centering your life around a single goal compared to a general direction. When that goal is achieved, you must experience the arduous process of reorientating your life. We consistently see the consequences of this arduous process with successful young athletes, celebrities, and professionals.
Scientific and Empirical Benefits to Having a Direction in Life
If you set a general direction in life with intermediate goals, this arduous process is less severe. Scientifically speaking, in the process of working toward this general direction, your brain’s reward circuits do not build a tolerance to dopamine and are therefore more stable.
Empirically speaking, having a general direction will make you less susceptible to the consequences of the many limitations and sacrifices associated with orientating towards a single goal, many of which cannot be undone following achievement of said goal.
Choosing a direction for your life is an equally arduous process. However, it fosters an attitude of curiosity rather than elimination. The rulebook for this process is so simple it’s not worth explaining. All it requires is being aware of your interests and being disciplined enough to work diligently at those interests.
My Direction
As I’ve alluded to in other pieces, consistently publishing these newsletters is just one goal of mine. My general direction is to create an ecosystem which discovers and enables individuals who embody Becoming Polymathic’s core values of curiosity, discipline, and resourcefulness to be more. How I will achieve those goals is vague, but the direction in which they will be achieved is clear. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Be more.
Become Polymathic.
Quote of the Week: “Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.” — Viktor E. Frankl
