Do You Have to Set Goals to Reach Them?

I read an article recently that’s titled, “Do Goals Actually Help You Succeed?”  by Brett Jarman.

I’m going to be honest here. My first thought was, “What!?! Are you kidding me?!”

There were some things in the post that I liked and agreed with. For example, he makes the point that people believe that writing down goals helps you achieve them… because “people want to believe that there is simple key to achieving what we want.” I do think there’s some truth to that. Most people are looking for a “quick fix” or a “magic pill” that will help them get what they wish for. Then the trouble comes…. they write down their goals, but they don’t know how to get there. They set no goals for the journey. For the work.

And they may or may not get there.

Just like Brett says in the article, “What doesn’t work though is goal setting for the sake of goal setting.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I had to share the post with my twitter buddy, Coach Bob Starkey. (You can follow him, too: @UCFCoachStarkey). He writes a blog, Hoop Thoughts, on teamwork, motivation, coaching, leadership, success… and more. He’s a current college basketball coach, and who sets goals? (The obvious) – athletic teams. I wanted to see what his thoughts were.

In his usual eloquent, sure-footed, and motivating way, he shared his thoughts here, in a post called, “Thoughts on Goal-Setting: Part I.” I encourage you to read it, as it pulls in thoughts from Nick Saban, Brian Tracy, and Greg Brown.

While Coach Starkey uses athletic analogies, the process-oriented goal setting he refers to – and which successful coaches use - is not exclusive to athletics. Athletics is simply the vehicle for the life lessons that the athletes learn.

In Brett’s article, he references a blog post by Corbett Barr, who says it this way, “Set goals for inputs, not outputs.” This approach to goal-setting works in LIFE, from getting the house clean, to losing weight, to learning Spanish, to getting good grades, to being a better friend….

In network marketing we are taught, “Focus on the activity, not the outcome.” In other words, focus on the process.

The article HERE shares a letter from Jeff Bezos to Amazon.com shareholders. In it, Bezos says  

Senior leaders that are new to Amazon are often surprised by how little time we spend discussing actual financial results or debating projected financial outputs. To be clear, we take these financial outputs seriously, but we believe that focusing our energy on the controllable inputs to our business is the most effective way to maximize financial outputs over time.

{Focus on the process.}

Back in 2009, I wrote about SMART goals. Creating Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely goals. When you write Specific goals, you answer the questions, “What do I want to accomplish and what are the requirements?”

Coach Starkey says,

“I’ve also evolved to believe strongly in ‘process goals’ as opposed to ‘destination
goals.’  Your goals must involve things you can control and not be linked or predicated on things in which you have no control.”

Barr also asks this,

I tend to set and pursue goals like most people do, but more and more I’m wondering where it all leads. Is life supposed to be a series of goal planning/chasing/accomplishing cycles?

I think he should add “/failing” in there. We don’t always accomplish our goals. It’s called the “Seasons of Life,” and it is most definitely a cycle.

What are YOUR thoughts on goal setting?

Tagged as: athletics, goal setting, goals, sports, strong mothers