Do you struggle with abstract goals? ✅
Today’s article is a short one. Hopefully it’s also helpful. No matter what your job, I’ve compiled together a few tips on how I’ve taught myself to approach abstract goals. But first things first…
👉 What are abstract goals?
These are often the goals that are vague hopeful expressions of something we want to change about our lives or ourselves. Because they are so vague, we are unable to form a plan to achieve them. And without a plan they are impossible to achieve. Our continued inability to achieve them makes us feel like we aren’t capable of anything. They feel like a mountain you can’t hike across, a peak that never ends. So how do we go about these goals?
✅ Start small, step by step
This is the hardest part. When we have a long-term, vague goal in mind, we often feel discouraged by it and subsequently avoid getting started on it. It’s hard to formulate a plan for something that feels big and vague. So instead, don’t plan it, throw away the checklist and opt for an approach that’s different.
It’s hard to determine the incremental steps necessary to reach distant, abstract goals we can’t visualise. So instead, start small. Take a single step towards that vague entity of a mountain. The path ahead is complex and you might not be able to see where you are going, but unless you start moving closer to it, the pathway will never become clearer in your mind. It’s ok to struggle to visualise this complex path and where it’s taking you when you first start to move towards it.
✅ Check-in and readjust your direction
Frequent check-ins, replanning, and adjustments can help us get closer to your big goal. As we move down the path we start to see the turns, rolls, uphill climbs and spirals. Keep walking but stay mindful of the compass–in this case your goal–and readjust your journey accordingly.
✅ Hold your why close, enjoy the ride
Why are you doing this? What is the long-term gain, or result you wish to achieve? Are you enjoying the process? Often we forget that enjoying the journey is as important, if not more so, than the long-term goal. Much like Odesseus on his way to Ithaka, we learn from the long journey ahead of us, not the destination. Like Odusseus, the path will lead us to dead ends, it will take us further from Ithaka some times. That’s ok. Make peace with the uncertainty and allow yourself to explore, discover and stay present in each step you take. In other words, embrace the journey, while keeping Ithaka in your mind.
One day you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come. So instead of putting them off, start working on your abstract, long-term goals today. Make small plans towards them and keep your attention on the opportunities and obstacles life throws at you. Sometimes by getting started on one path, you might find yourself on a greater journey than anything you've ever imagined. Life is an adventure.
Three useful resources on productivity
💡 1-3-5 rule is a podcast by Bright Side that can offer tips in increasing your productivity dramatically.
📋 Neuroscientist David Badre reveals why we're so bad at multitasking in this BBC Science Focus interview (which is also available in a podcast form if you find that easier than reading).
🎉 Fabulous is a very cute, daily routine planner app with a very playful interface that got me engaged in using it.
