Goal setting & contradicting advice

by EvieBurke, posted in video

Since it’s the beginning of a new year, the topic that I’m seeing everywhere is goal setting.

And I’m seeing a lot of contradicting advice.

Some people say you should set BIG goals and you’re wasting your time if you don’t.

But other people say setting BIG goals paves the way to failure and you should set small, easily achievable goals instead.

So, what are you supposed to do?

That’s what the topic of this week’s Wednesday Live with Evie was.

In the video below I share:

Specifically, I share:

  • Why they say to set BIG goals
  • Why they say to NOT set big goals, but smaller more achievable ones instead
  • What you should actually do

Wednesday LIVE with Evie #49

Here’s what I share:

  • Why they say to set BIG goals (3:00)
    • Big goals can motivate and excite you
    • They can give you space to dream
    • They can force you to try new and different things, to stretch yourself
    • When you set a big goal you might be more willing to change behavior or start a new habit
    • With small goals, you might lose interest or dismiss your accomplishments
  • Why they say to NOT set big goals, but smaller achievable ones instead (4:00)
    • When you hit a bump in the road with BIG goals you might lose momentum and motivation
    • Because BIG goals can be beyond our reach, if someone fails at reaching that goal, they might feel like they failed and give up and their motivation and productivity may decline
    • From Psychology Today in April 2017 (4:40)
      • “People who disengage from seemingly impossible goals are mentally healthier than those who stay entrapped .”
        In other words, it’s unhealthy to stay committed to a BIG goal that is impossible
      • “…decisions made on the basis of false predicted happiness are likely to turn out to fail to maximize eventual experienced happiness.”
        In other words, don’t create BIG goals based on being happier, you’ll be disappointed.
    • Smaller achievable goals are easier to accomplish and can give us the satisfaction of seeing progress made and keep us motivated
    • Obstacles feel less impossible to work through
  • ​​​​​​​What you should actually do (8:00)
    • First, know that we’re all wired differently
    • Know what works for you, what motivates you?
      • Are you motivated by big hairy audacious goals?
      • Or do those intimidate you? And do you prefer to focus on the things you can accomplish in the shorter term
    • How do you work? What’s been motivating to you in the past?
      • Having big goals?
      • Or do you focus on the smaller accomplishments?
    • What I do (10:30)
      • I tend to set smaller attainable goals while keeping a bigger goal in mind
      • So, I have the big goal that I want to accomplish, and I’ve broken it down into smaller steps that I focus on.
    • If you’re a bigger goal type of person (11:15)
      • Your BIG goal is probably more well defined and has more details
      • I still recommend breaking it down into smaller pieces
      • But it will be more motivating to you to keep the bigger goal in mind as you do the smaller pieces
  • Take Your Productivity to a New Level (14:00)