I'm Allergic to Goal-Setting

But there might be a cure

If at first you don’t succeed…

I’m not a very talented goal setter. At least, not in the way I often imagine goal setting ought to work (Specific! Measurable! Achievable! Relevant! Time-bound!)

I make the occasional to-do list and spend lots of time thinking about what I value and what I want to accomplish. I take steps toward doing things. But I’m not good at the structured, formal, accountable goal-setting that is so often touted as absolutely integral to life achievement and the reaching of potential. I might be allergic, in fact.

My aversion to formal goal setting traces back to my time as a missionary, where weekly and daily goal setting was an integrated and reinforced part of the schedule. You report your results frequently. It was hard, though, to stay motivated and optimistic about goals that are not entirely within your control. I felt perpetually agonized about the weekly “people baptized” goal. To put down “1” when you aren’t teaching anyone regularly and you know that pe…