Why goals suck the joy out of the journey (and what to do instead)
Planning for a better future shouldn’t be a frustrating or stressful activity that you dread.
But for many of us, goal-setting is exactly that.
Instead of fun, we get fear.
Instead of progress, we get procrastination.
In other words, goals often get us nowhere...and they make us feel like crap in the process (👀).
But I have a fix for this (and it's simple, too).
My best advice — for turning a wish into a win — is to make it a project.
Goals guide. Projects propel.
A well-built project is what every good goal should look like (but often fails to be).
They're meaningful.
They have a concrete (and desirable) end result.
And by definition — they come with an action plan to make it a reality.
But best of all…
We don't do goals; we do projects
The problem with goals is that they lack that necessary conversion from vague ideas to concrete action.
And what's worse — is that the structure of a goal makes you a failure till the moment you succeed.
You don’t get any kind of win until it’s met.
But projects are different.
With a project, you're successful until the moment you fail.
Because they're not something you work toward — they're something you work on.
With a project — your focus shifts to daily actions that take you where you want to go
And with that shift — you move from wishing for something to working on making it happen.
With a well-built project:
you know the way
you know how long you have to get there
you even know what might veer you off track or distract you from your intended route
And arming yourself with more than just a destination is what moves you out of a doubt-driven mindset and into one that says "you can do it.”
Think A-B not A-Z
The two most common struggles with executing projects — are starting and finishing.
Projects not yet started take up a ton of headspace and spark staggering levels of emotional flailing; and
Unfinished projects keep you on the hook and often make you feel incompetent.
But what I’ve found, is that shaping smaller projects and shipping in focused cycles — can fix both of these pains.
And what this small system tweak will help you do — as it has done for me many times — is to create a concrete path from where you are now, to where you want to be.
BUT without jumping too far ahead with your ambitious plans, so you can’t see the finish line.
The way to look at this system is: Goal > Projects > Tasks > Actions
Based on my experience and the feedback from surveying hundreds of my subscribers — we all have big goals we want to achieve.
And they’re all totally doable.
But it’s unlikely they’re doable in the random or undefined time frame you have set in your head.
Which is often where we get stuck.
Humans are terrible at estimating how long things will take.
It’s a common weakness.
And so to get better at executing your best ideas, you have to get better at
lowering your expectations, and
estimating the time it takes for you to do the work.
So the question I want to pose to you so that you can focus your thoughts and efforts and see if this offer might be useful for you — is to:
Think about what it would look like if you broke your biggest goal into 5-6 smaller projects. And then start with the first small project.
Beware! The (often) missing ingredient
Accountability is a big part of being able to execute your best work.
So it’s a good idea to build some skin in the game by leveraging any communities you’re a part of, finding a buddy, or getting a coach.
Alternatively, if you’d like to join a small group accountability program – dedicated to shipping your most significant projects — sign up for my six-week Project Accelerator program.
I can’t stress how helpful it is to have that support to spur you on and keep you on track.