LIFE FOCUS: CLARITY OF GOALS OR PURPOSIVE DRIFT?
| Goal setting or Purposive Drift | The 6 S's of Life Success | Goal Setting Disciplines |
- does goal setting work?
- what kind of goals make for “exceptional” success; what life outlook is associated with the “good life”?
- is it better to focus energy around one or two life priorities? Or look to achieve “balance” across a range of life themes?
“The most powerful and effective way to set goals is to make choices for the future.”
Frederick Mann
“Goal obsession is the force at play when we get so wrapped up in achieving our goal that we do it at the expense of a larger mission.”
Marshall Goldsmith
Goal Setting or Purposive Drift?
Classic success thinking emphasises “big dreams and practical goals”. Think big thoughts about what is possible, create a vision of what this looks like, and then set specific goals to achieve this vision. Does it work? Yes and no.
“Learning what to want is the most radical, the most painful and the most creative art of life”
Geoffrey Vickers
Here is the life paradox. Focus is powerful; it helps us make life choices. Plans, goals and targets are highly effective in directing our time and effort around what is important. But what if we don’t know what we want. Or, if what we think we want doesn’t make us happy, fulfilled and authentic in the long run? Goals help us attain our aims, but they can also be blinkers, blinding us to the unexpected and to new life possibilities. Is “purposive drift” a better life strategy? In purposive drift, we accept that life can’t be lived like a project plan. Instead we keep an open mind, alert to what is and isn’t working; to what changes and what stays the same; and to what we thought was important but is now becoming trivial.
If life focus is defined as exceptional success in one domain of life, then goal setting is critical. Indeed, obsession may be the better word. But if life success is one of balance, then purposive drift may be the better strategy. It acknowledges the reality that:
- there are more possibilities in life than right now we can imagine
- it’s tough predicting anything, never mind the long-term future or the kind of person we will be
- the process of living, and experiencing life’s full experience may be more important than the outcome, that “happiness is a way of travel - not a destination”
The life of concentrated effort on the “one thing” has the potential for exceptional achievement. It also runs the risk of a distorted and lopsided view of life. The “good life” recognises the importance of “balance”, engaging with different life themes. But without effective self management skills, it runs the risk of dissipating life energies, and being pulled in different directions.
A fulfilling and rewarding life is a life based on the “six S’s” of life success, with tactical insight to optimise strengths and manage around any shortcomings. In business-speak, strategic choice and superb execution. Or more simply, know what matters and is important, and how to get on and make it happen!
Review the listing of six goals and click to:
identify the gains and hazards and risks of each life goal.
Satisfaction: seeing life as fundamentally about the drive for happiness and the attainment of a life of contentment; an easy going and light-hearted approach which enjoys life on a day-to-day basis, taking pleasure from the “nice” things in life |
Status: the recognition of the fundamental competitive nature of life which drives you to attain prestige and influence; the desire to stand out as distinctive and special and make an exceptional impact on others |
Social Responsibility: the recognition that life can only lived with and through others; a sense of duty to discharge obligations towards others and the commitment to make a positive impact on others and to make improvements which benefit everyone |
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Security: a concern to provide stability, personally and for family which anticipates and manages life’s uncertainties and risks; planning systematically for the future to make short-term sacrifices for longer-term goals |
Search: seeing life as a journey to be experienced and as an adventure in personal growth and development; the refusal to accept simplistic answers but a commitment to question and challenge to gain a full understanding of the complexity of life’s dilemmas |
Spirituality: an idealism which is committed to living a life within a “moral compass” and operating around authentic values; a sense of the mysterious in life which sees beyond immediate day-to-day pressures to connect with a bigger purpose in life |
“If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."
Jim Rohn
Step1: clarify your life vision.
Do you know what you want? Manage the short-term
stuff but think strategically for the long-term
“If money and time were no constraint, what would you do with your life?”
David Lieberman
The future seems a far away place, so far away that long-range thinking seems unrealistic. It’s tempting then to live life for the short term. But the future will happen.
- what kind of person do you want to be in future?
- what kind of life style do you want to be living
- what kind of activities and interests will be the focus of your life energies?
- how do you want to be remembered?
A strategy of survival for the short-term is a strategy for a future life of “more of the same”. Think beyond the pressing priorities of this month to project your plans into next year and beyond.
Edward Banfield of Harvard University, looking for the reasons that some people moved up economically from one generation to the next, while others did not, concluded that “success” is based on a person's attitude toward time. Banfield called this the "time perspective”. He found that people who became successful invariably had a long time perspective. They took the long term into consideration when they planned their daily, weekly and monthly activities. They thought five, 10 and 20 years into the future. They allocated their resources and made their decisions based on how these choices would affect where they wanted to be several years from now.
What does this mean? In order for you to achieve everything of which you are capable, you must take a long-term view of your life. Take the long view in everything you do. Plan your life and career several years into the future to assure that you make better decisions today.
Complete the Life Dynamics Assessment to identify your life goals. See also “The Perfect Day” exercise. Do your goals reflect one central life theme, e.g. career success, or do they incorporate a number of different life aims? Are your goals primarily about this year or do they provide a longer-term purpose? Visualise:
- what is the “it” I want to achieve?
- what will “it” look and feel like?
- what will I be doing which I’m not doing now?
- what will I not be doing?
- how will my life be different?
This is the most difficult and demanding element of the life planning process. It is also the most important. Don’t rush it. Take time to get it right. You won’t “crack it” in one evening’s review. Give yourself weeks to work through the issues to get to the point where you feel you’ve really got it.
Step 2: review your current situation.
Do you have the motivation, talent and “street smarts” to get what you want?
Keep grounded but plan stretch
“It is wise to aim high so as to hit your mark, but not so high that you miss your mission at the beginning of your life.”
Baltasar Gracian
Your life vision should imagine a life that is in some way better, more rewarding and fulfilling than your current situation. Don’t set yourself up for failure by generating a picture of your future life that can result only in disillusionment. But don’t create a life plan based only on what is familiar and easy. Have a big vision for the long-term but be realistic in your assessment of your personal strengths and shortcomings as well as the challenges and difficulties you face. Remember that big achievements need more than big dreams and positive thinking. Smart tactics make a critical difference. Evaluate the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. how big is that gap? is the gap one you are able and willing to bridge? what combination of talents and tactics will take you from the realities of your current life situation to your future ideal?
Step 3: Set goals.
Do you know
what you have to do to succeed? Stay flexible but be specific
“Success is goals and all else is commentary.”
Lloyd Conant
Nail down your objectives. Define what it is that you want and what it means for you personally. Simply saying “I want a better life” won’t cut the mustard. We often find it difficult to be specific because we either don’t know what we want or we are reluctant to commit to a specific direction. Commit. Translate your thought processes into a practical set of goals that give meaningful purpose to your life, the kind of goals that shape your priorities over the next few weeks and months. Don’t allow an overall sense of what would be good become a vague statement of intent. Work through the Life Goal Setting exercise to help you pull your ideas into the kind of shape which represents meaningful priorities, the kind of specifics which clarify what you will and won’t do: tomorrow? this week? next month? by the end of year? But don’t lock yourself into an inflexible position. A good life strategy should be responsive to changing circumstances and ready to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. Be robust in your pursuit of your end-point but be prepared to vary your tactics to get you there.
If not, go back to check that you’ve spent enough time on your life vision.
Step 4: Track progress.
Do you know if you’re moving in the right direction?
Review progress but accept setbacks.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.”
Woody Allen
You will not achieve your goals immediately. Any worthwhile goal is difficult, demanding effort and patience. So, keep track of your progress. Check regularly how you are doing. At the end of each day, look at what you have accomplished. Is it helping you make progress? Weekly, monthly and yearly ask: how am I doing? Be honest in your appraisal. Take encouragement from your successes and accept there will be disappointments. But don’t rationalise away any shortcomings on your part. Keep true to your goals. Progress is motivational, encouraging you to press on. And if you are stalling, it is better to identify the problem sooner rather than later.
Conduct the “perfect day” exercise (from Raj Persaud’s “The Motivated Mind”) to help you identify the key themes of your future life. What would your perfect day look like? In this exercise you are given the “blank sheet of life” to describe:
- where would you be (you can be anywhere in the world)?
- who would you be with (you can be with whoever would make your perfect day)?
- what would you be doing (there are no constraints)?
- what kind of person would you be (again, no constraints)?
This is not your good day. This is your version of the most perfect day you could ever imagine. Put in as much detail as possible. Be specific with the specifics. And it’s your perfect day, not the day you think you should describe to others. You’re not writing for an essay examination; don’t worry about your vocabulary or grammar. But do put in enough creative effort to make your day “come alive”.
Put your page to one side for a while. Then come back to it after a few hours.
- what key themes strike you? which life goals seem most significant?
- which don’t feature at all? how does your “perfect day” now feel? Is it still perfect or is something missing?
- how similar and different is your perfect day to your current life situation?