Today, I begin the Ultimate Blog Challenge! Why am I doing this? Well, first and most simply, to challenge myself! Yes, there are the ideas about blog growth etc. However, I have been operating by the mantra that in order to SEE growth, you’ve got to get a bit uncomfortable. And that’s what this is…..uncomfortable. I mean, who wants to write everyday?? Why would ANYONE want to do that? Writing doesn’t serve any great purpose other than putting words on a paper and taking up a bit of extra time in my day. Honestly!
While I’m at that, the other day I heard someone talking about success and goals. They were mentioning that writing down goals is important. Well, I’m not so sure about that. As a matter of fact, I think that we have all gotten a LOT lazier since writing came about. Whatever happened to good old folklore, memory, tradition passed down through generations via storytelling around a fire? I believe that we should just practice using our brains more. As a matter of fact, here are five RIDICULOUSLY GREAT reasons why you should NOT write your goals down:
1. Writing goals causes you to have to see them.
If you see them all the time, then you might stop to review them and then that would just slow you down even further. Your day is built on sticking to your time frames so this is just an interruption in your day, really.
2. Writing them down doesn’t make you accomplish them any faster.
Again, we are back to the time wasting idea. What really counts here is actually doing something. Writing it does not accomplish that and so why waste that time? You could be spending that time doing something, assuming that you really want to do it anyway.
3. Other people might see it.
Your goals are just that…YOUR personal goals. Sharing them is never a good idea and as a matter of fact, it causes people to have expectation of you. Many of them criticize you when you don’t accomplish your goals and so, it is better not to put anything in written form because they will just use it against you. They will SAY they are holding you accountable but it is really just a code word for criticism.
4. Writing them down causes you to have to figure other stuff out.
So, you write down a goal. NOW what? You’ve got to figure out how you are going to get it done so you don’t look stupid in front of…well…your paper. You know…you’ve got to save face now. Now, you have to look at small steps and whatever you need to do to get this goal completed. This is just another way to waste your time. There are other things that you could be doing….a Housewives show comes to mind. (Wait, is this Deja Vu?? Did I write a post like this already?)
5. Because it just puts pressure on you.
Listen, life is too short to put pressure on yourself. Live in the moment. Decide what you are going to do right now and then just do that. Planning and writing a bunch of stuff is for those Type A personality folks who have a stick up their……..ok, I’ll be nice but you get the point.
That’s it. I’m tired of writing this stuff anyway. Besides, writing is really a waste of my time. Heyyyyyyy, wait a minute….
Do you write goals down? If so, why? Leave your answer in the comments below!
#UltimateBlogChallenge-Day1
Robert, that was really interesting! I’ve been involved in multiple coaching programs that encourage the writing down of goals. But I agree, sometimes that puts a lot of pressure on me. It’s a fine line between the pressure of the “how” and the “when”, and the motivation seeing it in writing provides. Thanks for the thoughts!
Thanks for your response Nicole! I was being a tad tongue in cheek but I think the purpose of goals really IS to accomplish or to achieve. So, maybe a little pressure IS good 🙂
I need to write my goals and see them and I don’t care if others do and I don’t care if they have expectations who are “they” anyway some goal less people with not enough to do but pay attention to what I’m not doing. I’m just say’n!
LOL. Thanks Kirsten. I don’t know about others. For me, I’m just getting older and so there’s just a lot of stuff to keep track of in my brain. So, writing is a good thing for me.
Great use of reverse-psychology, Robert! Gonna go write down my goals now . . .
Way to go Amy 🙂
I don’t write down my goals because they are always changing. But for some reason, I will talk about my goals- there you have it. 🙂
Thanks Brook. Change is ok. I call it adjusting :-). I don’t always write my goals but I find that when I do, I lock in a little differently, even if it changes later on.
I haven’t written my goals down. Not sure why. Maybe cause it makes them to concrete.
Thanks for sharing Cindy! They make sidewalks out of concrete. :-). So, it’s not all bad 😉
Funny, Robert. Yeah, writing them down might just mean you have to do something about them. That would be a COMPLETE waste of time.
Yes!! And isn’t WASTING time what life is ALL about? 🙂
I’m a strong believer in writing goals, and then checking back in 3 months or 6 months.
It keeps you accountable. You have to answer to yourself 6 months down the road on what you did and didn’t accomplish.
I don’t look at them every day. But if there’s something I really want to do, I write it down (well, I save it in a Word doc actually), and then I check back to see if what I did and did not accomplish later in the year.
If I failed at a certain goal and it still seems worthy, it’s a good reminder to try again. Or to try if I haven’t already.
Goals and objectives change though. So I might see an old goal that I never reached, and decide it’s no longer relevant. That’s okay too.
But I see a lot of benefit in being reminded of what I set out to accomplish, and holding myself accountable for that.
This is great Biron! Yes, checking in on yourself is a great plan. This is a journey. Having a few markers and milestones is a good tracker. Thanks for commenting.
Don’t have a goal, does that mean I am doomed for life?
Nope. Not doomed. There is no absolute. Some people don’t feel like goals work for them. I’m just not one of those people ;-). I believe that what you set your mind to, you focus on. And when you focus, usually achievement follows. I’ll take those odds. What do you think about this?