10 Best Articles on Goals

The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully…

Don't set goals. Passion is bullshit. Mediocre skills are valuable. These are just a few of the unexpected truths you'll discover in Scott Adams' new book. Here are 10 more takeaways.

«You can’t be generous to others if you’re not in a good place. Adams argues that once your needs are met, you can focus on the needs of others.»

If used correctly, scapegoating can be a powerful tool for resisting temptation and sticking to hard goals.

Here lies the paradox of goals: Setting goals is a guarantee for disillusionment whether we reach the desired state or not, and yet working toward goals is an important part of evolving as a person.…

«It is tempting during such liminal moments to cling on to a ladder – any ladder – to regain an illusory sense of control and progression.»

When we set insurmountable and unrealistic goals, it's easy to get demoralized and just give up. Kaizen offers us another (better) way.

«There’s something wrong with each of us. Even if you tried to live a faultless, blameless, perfect life, there is always something left to criticize.»

And why qualitative goals are more helpful than you might think

“When I achieve this goal, then I will be happy.” We often mistakenly believe that achieving our goals will make us happy. That tendency is called the arrival fallacy.

«Although completing a goal may lead to the arrival fallacy, Dr Tal Ben-Shahar maintains that having objectives is essential to personal growth.»

Kyūdō, the Japanese martial art of archery, offers an alternative philosophy where aims matter more than goals, and where success is the process itself.

«It is not the target that matters. It is not the finish line that matters. It is the way we approach the goal that matters. Everything is aiming.”»

Goals that are SMART (“specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound”) aren’t, in fact, the most intelligent choice for your firm – so say strategy consultant Charles Sull and managment lecturer Donald Sull in this research-laden MIT Sloan Management Review article. For best results, the Sulls urge, set goals that are FAST: “frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent.”