Goal

What’s a goal?

Is about what we achieve or who we become? Is about our input or the output? What is the relationship between goals and integrity?

Dictionary Definition
goal [ gōl ]
1. target area: in a game such as soccer or hockey, the space or opening into which a ball or puck must go to score points, usually a pair of posts with a crossbar and often a net
2. aim: something that somebody wants to achieve
3. score: the score gained by getting the ball or puck into the goal

Jullien’s Definition

A goal is a time-bound challenge to test our commitment and integrity.

Earl Nightingale said “A success is anyone who is realizing a worthy predetermined ideal, because that’s what he or she decided to do…deliberately. Goals are essentially the predetermined ideal. Throughout our lives we accomplish many goals, but we will only feel truly successful if it’s what we decided to do, not someone else (i.e. parents, boss, teachers, etc).

The time-bound quality of a goal is less about whether or not we achieved our desired outcome in that time period and more about creating a checkpoint to evaluate who we’ve become in the process of achieving a goal. The 365-day period for evaluating New Year’s Resolutions is to long to be an effective feedback loop. That’s why I create the 30 Day Do It MVMT—to end the concept of new year’s resolutions and introduce the idea of new month resolutions.

A goal must be a challenge meaning that it pushes us out of our comfort zones and challenges us to be someone we’ve never been before. If we know we can achieve something in advance, then it’s not a challenge and therefore not a worth goal. Great goals cause us to stretch beyond our perceived limits to expand who we come to know ourselves as in the world. That’s the difference between a goal and a to do list item. Goals may have to do list items within them, but the goal pushes into a realm of uncertainty where we may not even know what to do, therefore, a to do list isn’t appropriate.

Most bucket list items aren’t goals—they are to do list items with a little dose of fear. Great goals should scare the hell out of us…literally…because they require us to take on the Godly quality of speaking something and making it real. Whereas bungie jumping may cause a moment of irrational fear, the pursuit of a worthy goal will be a long journey that requires walking hand-in-hand with fear. Most bucket list items also aren’t authentic—they come from outside and what’s perceived as cool to and by others. Worthy goals always come from within. Instead of pointing and saying “I want to do that,” goals lead us to say “I want to do something I didn’t think was possible for me.”

Integrity simply means living up to our word. It’s a personal commitment—when we say we will do something, we do it. When we set goals, everything isn’t in our control, so all we can really commit to is our word. Outcomes and the how isn’t up to us. Goals don’t get achieved for a two reasons:
1. Loss of Integrity: We didn’t stay true to our word and we fell out of integrity
2. Loss of Commitment: We stayed true to our word, but what we commit to doing wasn’t the best action to increase the likelihood of our desired outcome in a certain timeframe and our commitment faded

Most people are great goal setters, but the difference between goal setters and goal achievers is that goal achievers keep going until they get what they want. Their everlasting integrity and commitment doesn’t fade because something didn’t occur in their time frame. Their “predetermined ideal” overwhelms them and they will spend their life pursuing it if it takes that long to achieve. The only thing we have control of is our input or effort. The output and outcomes come when they are ready. The question is who will still be standing at the door when the outcome answers.