Traps in Goal Setting: A Framework To Win Over in 2024
Build your own cadence for achieving what's important to you!
As we are settling into 2024, chaos is coming back in the form of unexpected meetings, urgent items, bad commitments, things that don’t deserve our attention, F**kups, and may be demanding unbalanced relationships.
That’s why you may find a completely new tribe that doesn’t believe in setting any goals or expectations and believes in serendipity.
I also agree that 8/10 things don’t happen but I have found a subtle flaw in the very mindset of how we set goals and view them as opposed to randomness of life.
Plans do work, but sometimes they either take more time to show fruits or they lost their relevancy as well or situations change. I have also seen plans with extra dependencies fall into excuse trap.
When this thought stuck me - I started digging deep..to find truths behind it, and I found series of traps that not only captures a potential plan but also make sure it doesn’t get executed when we lay it out or manifest in first place.
Here is a framework, I devised simplify my understanding of the same. Checkout the graph below for the same.
So, any goal or a plan which involves:
High Aspiration, High Execution may lead to Possible Burnout. It's a paradoxical situation where the pursuit of lofty goals, coupled with relentless hard work, may inadvertently lead to the exhaustion of one's mental and physical resources which may reduce it’s capability of being pursued further
High Aspiration, Low Execution may lead to Midway Anxiety because High aspirations, when met with inadequate execution, can create a dissonance between expectation and reality. The resulting anxiety emerges from the unmet potential, as the journey stagnates midway, leaving individuals grappling with the feeling of falling short of their envisioned destination.
Low Aspiration , Low Execution may lead to Sudden Death. I think this needs no explanation as it was a lost pursuit while it was being planned out or noted down in diary itself as there was lack of real intent behind it and the motivation might have come through a bias.
Low Aspiration, High Execution may lead to Exhaustion because the lack of tangible progress may contribute to a pervasive sense of exhaustion, making it challenging to muster the enthusiasm needed to reignite one's pursuit of meaningful goals.
In the dynamic landscape of goal-setting, achieving a harmonious balance between high aspirations and effective execution is crucial for sustainable success. Also, planning or goal setting is a strategic and critical thinking activity. Either you need to adopt that mindset or take help from a friend who is good in this.
The above framework doesn’t offer any solution but will help you in understanding what game are you playing, so that you are anytime 100% aware of your expectation, mindset and priorities so that you can keep adjusting and pushing it forward accordingly.
I guess this enough for getting you started. There will be part 2 of this thread where I will delve more into the possible approaches, solutions and stuff that normally works, works.
Building your Tribe? Hit me on Linkedin with a note.
In this pursuit, let's venture into 2024 with a fresh perspective on goals. Set your dominos, knock them down each day, and revel in the journey.
Wishing you a year filled with achievement, focus, and moments of pure joy.
Cheers!
