The success of any pathway depends more on choosing the right goal than on the effort given.
Listening to The Rest Is Politics made me realise how misaligned some countries’ goals can be.
I am not talking about whether they prioritised social policy or economic policy.
I’m talking about the simple goals of a foreign intervention.
You might not understand what I am talking about. It’s simple, trying to save a country.
The British entered Afghanistan in 2001 and left in 2022. Some may view the 21 years as stable whereas others will argue that it didn’t achieve much.
When the British and Americans left, the Taliban came back. You can make your own judgment
Why do people view it as a failure?
They missed the point. The goal was not only to remove extremism but to build a new, self-reliant nation founded upon peace.
Instead of a nation with peace for all, we are now faced with a regressive and oppressive regime, once again.
I am not saying that you should believe these interventions were a failure, I’m using this as an example.
Don’t miss your goal.
The success of any pathway depends more on choosing the right goal than on the effort given.
In this week’s blog post, I want to stress the importance of setting the right goal. Spend some time asking yourself, is this what you want?
Never underestimate how strategic clarity and proper goal-setting can shape your personal progress.
Let’s take a look at the science.
When we start a task, we spend the first fifteen minutes of it working hard to maintain focus and keep doing it.
We then enter the flow state. This is where most of the high-quality work gets produced. It is here where our dopamine increases.
We know that when we complete this activity, our reward is going to feel incredible. This task means something to us.
If it’s meaningful while we are doing it, we are on the right pathway.
So it seems that when we set the right goals, the right pathways will follow, which makes us feel good. We are working towards a genuine reward.
So why don’t we set the right goals?
There’s a key reason for not setting them.
We listen to others who think they know us but don’t.
Some people argue that from one interaction or knowing us for a while, they know what we should aim for. But they aren’t us.
Only you do. So why listen to them when the answers are with you.
When we set the right goals, it is because they are what we want to achieve. We want to have that car, we want that job, we want to feel healthier.
So when you set your goals, remember to align them with who you are and want to be. You have that power.
Ali Abdaal has many recommendations about goal setting, but his best is quite simple. Set them quarterly.
Keep it to a length so that you can measure its success on a consistent basis.
Annual goals are too hard to follow. They change because you change. Setting a quarterly goal shows you can achieve it. Thus, it is the right goal for you.
For example, my goal in Q1 of 2025 is to ensure I do a cardio session two times a week.
This is measurable and achievable.
So this week, if you examine your goals remember:
Remember, setting the right goal will increase your chance of success.
Have a great week!
Dylan 🙂