A few years ago, I read a (pretty mediocre) book that happened to have an amazing quote. It went something like this:
“We don’t grow to survive; we survive to grow.”
I agree with this quote. There is nothing quite like looking back and seeing how much progress you’ve made at something that you used to suck at.
It is very hard to get better at something unless you are intentional about it. After all, as the saying goes, you don’t mistakenly become great..
Keeping this in mind, I set 6 month goals and then work backwards to set monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Right now, I’m still trying to figure out the best system to track these goals. I tried using Trello but found it to be too disorganized. The thought of using Notion or Airtable, on the other hand, seems too complex to me. Maybe I will just stick to pen and paper.
I’m pretty mediocre at this right now. I miss days, I scrap goals, I give up, I self-sabotage, etc. But I’m slowly getting better and I know I will improve.
Anyways, the main benefit of goal setting and then planning is that it forces you to objectively assess your actions and to see whether they will lead you to a good outcome. This is very uncomfortable to do, and at the beginning it feels unnecessarily forced.
But it also gets addicting once you start to see even a little progress. The magic of building habits (that will help you accomplish your goals) is truly remarkable. Once you do something everyday for 6 months and realize you went from 0 to pretty good, you realize you can apply this to anything in your life.
It’s important to be intentional, push yourself, and constantly be assessing your progress.
The best thing in life is achievement. And by that I don’t mean things like making money or becoming famous (those are merely occasional byproducts of achievement). I mean things like creating, exercising, learning, mentoring, winning.
I think that any day I have not intentionally planned or set clear goals, I have not reached my potential. I have lived a day based off my “emotions”. I have let my emotions dictate my actions, and most of the time, my emotions do not prioritize growth. They prioritize comfort.
Imagine what you could do if everyday you (1) set clear goals, (2) pushed yourself, and (3) held yourself accountable?
Imagine the progress you would make in a year. 2 years. 10 years. Someone who consistently builds the right habits and sets goal will crush it.
This type of behavior could be called excessive. I don’t think so. I think that growth, as the quote at the beginning of this article states, is core to living a good life. And therefore to prioritize it is not excessive, but extremely valuable.
I haven’t done anything yet, but I will keep getting better and I will keep pushing myself.