Got Goals? Good for You. But Why?

Goals, dreams, accomplishments…it doesn’t matter what you call them. At the end of the day, all you know is that you have a strong feeling that there is something you need to do. No, something you must do. It might be to write a book. Or to become a successful musician. Or to become a doctor. Or to make a varsity sports team. It might be big. It might be small. But you know deep down that you must do this thing.

But why?

It turns out you actually need to think pretty deeply about the motivation behind your goal because that understanding matters. You might discover that your motivations aren’t really ones that align with your moral code or set of values. If that’s the case, it’s time to re-think them. You might discover that your goal is actually not related to what you think you need to accomplish. For example, you may feel the need to write a book but when you look at the reasons why, you might realize that what you really want to do is touch people and improve their lives. As you look deeper, you may figure out that you don’t actually need to write a book to do this. You may decide that you could also become a speaker or a teacher or a health care worker or any other number of things. What you’ll find is that there are often many paths that can help lead you to your dream and the “thing” you need to accomplish, may actually just be an action you need to take.

At the end of the day, your goals should be driven by the experiences you want to have and the person you want to be in this world.

Let me say that again just to make sure you’re hearing me:

Your goals should be driven by the experiences you want to have and the person you want to be in this world.

Your dreams should help you to grow and should help make your life richer and deeper. Your dreams should be about what you want to contribute to the world and the journey you want to take.

So think about your goals and dreams and ask yourself:

Why do I want to achieve this?

What does it mean to me?

Where will it lead me?

Who will it make me?

What will it allow me to contribute?

What will I look like at the end?

What will the world look like at the end?

Understanding the motivation behind your dreams is a powerful tool to helping you achieve them.

So the next time you think about a goal ask yourself: Why? Then ask it again.