We all know that goals are essential. But, do you know how important writing them down can be? Joe Curtis, our COO, mentioned this in his recent goals training meeting last week on Teams and referenced a Harvard Business Study. It found that 3% of graduates from their MBA who had their goals written down ended up earning ten times as much as the other 97% put together, just ten years after graduation.

That’s a pretty significant statistic! 

Creating goals can start to feel overwhelming. “Your goals need to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound to be ‘real’ goals.” That’s a lot to handle, especially when life and work are coming at you right now. It can feel so time-consuming that you might even say, “Screw it!” and skip goal setting altogether. 

Today, I wanted to share an alternative goal-setting route. I learned about this after reading a post by Vishen Lakhiani. 

Start by asking yourself these three questions: 

  1. What human experiences do you want to have?
  2. What will help you grow and become the person you want to be?
  3. In what ways can you contribute to others and the world as a whole?

Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, start writing down the answers and your thoughts. Think of it as a bucket list of sorts. For me, I’ve simplified it to:

  • Experiences
  • Growth
  • Giving back 

 I think about them this way: 

  • How do I want to experience myself, health, meditation, workout routine, relationships, and work? I include the experiences I want to have and the places I want to go. Seeing the Dodgers win a World Series, seeing the Packers win a Super Bowl, and going to Bora Bora with Dori are a few of mine.
  • For growth, I write down books I want to read, things I want to learn (and how I’ll learn them), and becoming the best version of myself as a dad, husband, coach, leader, and communicator.
  • Are you giving money, time, and/or energy to people and causes you care about? Neighbors and co-workers: are you there for them? Also, one of the best ways to get out of a funk is to give back and help someone else. It’s hard to wallow in your self-pity when you’re focused on others. 

They say in business, if you aren’t growing, you’re dying. I think that’s true for us humans too. 

If accountability is an issue, tell others about your goals, and have accountability partners. One step further? Announce it on social media. It’s much harder to flake on your goals if you’ve told others about them. And don’t forget to reward yourself. If you reach a goal, make sure you do something special just for you! 

The most important thing to do, if nothing else, is to write your goals down! 

One final thing to keep in mind…when you think about the goals and experiences you want to have, consider things you can control. If you say, “I want to be in a loving relationship with a spouse,” that’s not a goal you can control on your own. You cannot control your spouse. A better goal might be that you want to be the best partner that you can be. That you can control. 

If your goal is to be the most successful person at your company, that’s not controllable. You have no control over what others have planned. A better route would be striving to do your job 110% versus 100%. Your spouse could leave, or the industry could fall apart, so focus on what you can control. The word is unf*ckwithable. Stop depending on other people for your own happiness. More on that later.  

I hope this helps simplify goals just a little bit. Remember that our team is here for you, so please reach out if you have any questions or we can be of service to you. 

Life is good. – Jeff